Pedro Rodriquez v. Bowhead Transportation Company, an Alaska Corporation

In this case, we decide whether contract language between a stevedoring company and the time charterer of a ship creates a duty for the time charterer to supervise the stevedore’s loading operation. We hold that this contract language does not impose such a duty upon the charterer, and we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Bowhead.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE

Appellant-Plaintiff Pedro Rodriquez (“Rodriquez”) worked as a longshoreman securing cargo onto a barge in Seattle. Rodriquez was injured on July 12, 1996, when a forklift operator, whose sight was obscured, lowered a 20,000-pound load onto Rodriquez’s foot. Rodriquez’s big toe and second toe were amputated as a result of the accident. He missed about six weeks of work. He received about $15,000 in workers’ compensation benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”), 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-950 (1986). The parties do not dispute the details of the accident.

Rodriquez was directly employed by Barrett Business Services (“Barrett”), a temporary labor supplier. Barrett provided longshoremen to Northland Services, Inc. (“Northland”), a stevedoring company that, operated a cargo-loading…