## Facts

- Vermilion Corporation operated a marshland “duck camp” under contract with the Bayou Club and also used the site as a base for nearby marsh operations (including alligator-related work, trapping, shrimping, and rice farming).
- Sam Green worked only at the camp, primarily as a cook and watchman; outside duck season he also performed general maintenance and typically cooked lunch for employees working in the area.
- Green was required to remain at the camp from Monday morning until Friday noon (longer hours during duck season) and usually arrived by boat with weekly groceries.
- Green occasionally assisted in mooring and unloading supply boats docking at the camp.
- On May 10, 1994, a Vermilion employee piloting the M/V GADWALL radioed Green for assistance in tying up and unloading the vessel.
- While mooring the vessel, Green boarded the M/V GADWALL, slipped on the deck, and suffered neck and back injuries.
- Green sued Vermilion asserting coverage under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) and, alternatively, general maritime claims for negligence and unseaworthiness.

## Issues

1. Whether Green was excluded from LHWCA coverage as an “individual[] employed by a club, camp, [or] recreational operation” under 33 U.S.C. § 902(3)(B).
2. Whether Louisiana workers’ compensation exclusivity barred Green’s general maritime law claims against his employer for negligence and unseaworthiness arising from an injury on a vessel on navigable waters.

## Decision

- The Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment denying LHWCA coverage, holding Green fell within the § 902(3)(B) “club/camp” exclusion.
- The court reversed summary judgment dismissing Green’s general maritime negligence and unseaworthiness claims.
- The court remanded for further proceedings on the maritime claims.

## Legal Principles

- The LHWCA’s § 902(3)(B) “club/camp” exclusion applies to employees whose work is essentially tied to a camp-like operation, even if the site also supports related commercial activity and the employee sometimes performs vessel-related tasks.
- Occasional assistance with mooring or unloading does not necessarily change the basic character of employment for purposes of the § 902(3)(B) exclusion.
- When admiralty jurisdiction exists for an injury occurring on a vessel on navigable waters in connection with maritime activity, state workers’ compensation exclusivity provisions cannot extinguish federal general maritime causes of action, including negligence and unseaworthiness.

## Conclusion

The Fifth Circuit held that a duck-camp cook/watchman was excluded from LHWCA coverage under the statute’s “club/camp” exclusion, but it reinstated his general maritime negligence and unseaworthiness claims because state workers’ compensation exclusivity could not bar those federal maritime remedies.


Green v. Vermilion Corp., 144 F.3d 332 (5th Cir. 1998)