Offer v. Basic Towing Inc ( 1998 )

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
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No. 97-30121
Summary Calendar
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MARIAH OFFER; DEAN RAYMOND;
PATRICK KERNS; JOHN JACOBS,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
versus
BASIC TOWING, INC.; DAN KOBASIC,
Individually and as Master of the
TUG KRYSTAL K; UNIDENTIFIED PARTY,
Defendants-Appellees.
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Appeal from the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Louisiana
USDC No. 95-CV-210-T
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January 16, 1998
Before JOLLY, BENAVIDES, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Mariah Offer, Dean Raymond, Patrick Kerns, and John Jacobs
sued Basic Towing, Inc., owner of the M/V TUG KRYSTAL K, and Dan
Kobasic, owner of Basic Towing and master of the vessel, to recover
travel expenses advanced to them but later deducted from their
wages when they refused to sail with the vessel prior to its
departure. The plaintiffs appeal the district court’s holding that
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
the defendants were justified in deducting travel expenses from
their wages under 46 U.S.C. § 11501(2) and its holding that Offer,
Jacobs, and Kerns were jointly liable for delay costs and other
expenses incurred by the defendants resulting from Offer, Jacobs,
and Kerns breaching their employment contracts by refusing to sail.
Under 46 U.S.C. § 11501(2), deductions from a seaman’s wages
are justified for a seaman neglecting or refusing, without
reasonable cause, to join the vessel or proceed to sea; the amount
of the deduction must be either not more than two days’ pay or a
sufficient amount to defray expenses incurred in hiring a
substitute. The district court’s findings that the vessel was
seaworthy, safe, and liveable; that the plaintiffs did not have
reasonable cause to refuse to sail; and that the advanced travel
expenses deducted from their wages covered the expenses of flying
in replacements are factual findings plausible in the light of the
record read as a whole and not clearly erroneous. See Dow Chemical
v. M/V Roberta Tabor, 815 F.2d 1037, 1042 (5th Cir. 1987);
Employers Ins. of Wausau v. Suwannee River Spa L., 866 F.2d 752,
768 (5th Cir. 1989).
The district court’s findings that Offer, Kerns, and Jacobs
acted together in quitting and that their breaches of their
employment contracts together caused a three-day delay in sailing
and incurred expenses to the defendants in the amount of $1,628 are
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also factual findings plausible in the light of the record read as
a whole and not clearly erroneous. Id.
A F F I R M E D.
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