United States Fifth Circuit

Coast Guard regulations requiring the operator of each manned facility on the Outer Continental Shelf to submit an Emergency Evacuation Plan (EEP) do not affix legal responsibility on any party to offshore drilling operations beyond that which is undertaken by contract or imposed by extrinsic law; thus, district court erred in holding rig owner liable for errors that were the responsibility of vessel owner and time-charterer.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/28/2002
• Published 03/28/2002

Judges

• EDITH H. JONES, Circuit Judge:, Before DAVIS and JONES, Circuit Judges, and PRADO , District Judge.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• William B. Schwartz (argued), Brien J. Fricke, Burke & Mayer, New Orleans, LA, for Petitioners-Appellants., Brett Michael Bollinger (argued), Law Office of Alan A. Zaunbrecher, New Orleans, LA, for Epoch Well Logging and Industrial Indem., Lawrence D. Wiedemann (argued), Jonathan Michael Walsh, Wiedemann & Wiedemann, New Orleans, LA, for Allaway and Bates., Daniel L. Daboval (argued), Charles T. Miers, Abbott, Simses & Kuchler, Houston, TX, for Texaco Exploration and Production Inc. and Texaco Inc., Timothy W. Cerniglia (argued), Charles Edward Weaver, Sharp, Henry, Cerniglia, Colvin & Weaver, New Orleans, LA, for Transocean Offshore Inc. and Transocean Offshore Ventures, Inc.