Ward

MEMORANDUM **

Zander Ward, a fish processor aboard a ship owned by Idde Seafoods, Inc («Icicle>,); was assauited and injured by a fellow crew member while Icicle>s ghip was located off the coast of Alaska, He appealg the district court>s denial of attorneys fees and punitive damageS) wUch he sought in connection with his successful motion to compel Icicle to pay maintenance and cure for the injuries he sustained during the assault We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . afdrm

The district court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Icicle’s failure *211 to pay maintenance and cure was not “arbitrary, recalcitrant or unreasonable” — the legal standard we have applied to requests for attorneys fees in maintenance and cure actions. Kopczynski v. The Jacqueline, 742 F.2d 555, 559 (9th Cir.1984); see also Vaughan v. Atkinson, 369 U.S. 527, 530-31 , 82 S.Ct. 997 , 8 L.Ed.2d 88 (1962) (allowing attorneys fees against shipowner who willfully and persistently failed to investigate claim for maintenance and cure by a seaman). In the weeks immediately after the assault, as he was still receiving unearned wages from Icicle, Ward expressly indicated that his symptoms…