Pillsbury

This is a bill in equity by an employer and its insurance carrier to set aside an award of $1,000 in favor of the United States Treasurer made by Warren H. Pillsbury as deputy commissioner under the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act ( 33 U.S.C.A. § 901 et seq.). The defendant Pillsbury has moved to dismiss the bill of complaint.

Merton, a longshoreman, fell through the hatch of a ship and was killed, June 24, 1934. On July 23, 1934, the deputy commissioner gave notice that a hearing called on his own initiative would be held to ascertain “whether deceased left any person dependent upon him for support.” The hearing occurred on August 3, 1934. On May 17, 1935, the deputy commissioner gave a notice of further hearing “to take up the question of burial expenses and the payment of $1,000 to the Treasurer of the United States.” That hearing took place May 27, 1935. The evidence at the hearings satisfactorily established that the death took place on navigable waters of the United States, within the scope of employment while Merton was working as a longshoreman for one of the plaintiffs, and that he had no dependents. In the interval between the two hearings plaintiffs…