Barnes v. Sea Hawaii Rafting, LLC et al

Filing 203

ORDER DENYING AS MOOT PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL re: 199 . Signed by JUDGE ALAN C KAY on 12/30/2015. (afc) CERTIFICATE OF SERVICEParticipants registered to receive electronic notifications received this document electronically at the e-mail address listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF). All participants are registered to receive electronic notifications.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII

CHAD BARRY BARNES,
Plaintiff,
v.
SEA HAWAII RAFTING, LLC, KRIS
HENRY, M/V TEHANI, et al.,
Defendants.

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Civ. No. 13-00002 ACK-RLP

ORDER DENYING AS MOOT PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE
INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL

This matter arises under admiralty law. The Court and
the parties are familiar with the extensive factual and
procedural history of this case, and the Court will not repeat it
here except as necessary to dispose of the instant Motion.
On December 22, 2015, this Court issued its Order
Granting in Part and Denying in Part Plaintiff’s Motion for
Summary Judgment as to Unseaworthiness, Negligence Per Se, and
for Jones Act Negligence, and Dismissing Defendant M/V Tehani for
Lack of Jurisdiction. (Doc. No. 197 (“12/22/15 Order”).) On
December 23, 2015, Plaintiff Barnes filed his Motion for Leave to
File Interlocutory Appeal. (Doc. No. 199.) The following day,
Barnes filed his Notice of Interlocutory Appeal. (Doc. No. 201.)

On December 28, 2015, counsel for the bankruptcy trustee in the
Sea Hawaii Rafting, LLC bankruptcy proceeding filed his
Memorandum in Opposition to Barnes’s Motion for Leave to File
Interlocutory Appeal. (Doc. No. 202.) Pursuant to District of
Hawaii Local Rule 7.2(d), the Court elects to decide the instant
matter without a hearing.
In the pending Motion, Barnes asks this Court for leave
to file an interlocutory appeal of this Court’s 12/22/15 Order.
Barnes seeks to bring this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1292(a)(3). Section 1292(a)(3) provides that “the courts of
appeals shall have jurisdiction of appeals from: . . . . (3)
Interlocutory decrees of such district courts or the judges
thereof determining the rights and liabilities of the parties to
admiralty cases in which appeals from final decrees are allowed.”
28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(3).
Courts have read § 1292(a)(3) as providing for
appellate jurisdiction only where the order at issue determines
the parties’ substantive rights and obligations. Allen v. Okam
Holdings, Inc., 116 F.3d 153, 154 (5th Cir. 1997) (citing In re
Complaint of Ingram Towing Co., 59 F.3d 513, 517 (5th Cir.
1995)). “Orders which do not determine parties substantive rights
or liabilities, however, are not appealable under section
1292(a)(3) even if those orders have important procedural
consequences.” Id.

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Importantly, however, where a jurisdictional ruling
forecloses the only forum in which a claim may be brought against
a party, it may be determinative of the parties’ substantive
rights or liabilities. See MS Tabea Schiffahrtsgesellschaft MBH &
Co. KG v. Bd. of Comm’rs, 636 F.3d 161, 165 (5th Cir. 2011);
Allen, 116 F.3d at 154; In re Manson Const. Co., 544 Fed. Appx.
412, 414 n.1 (5th Cir. 2013). It appears this is such a case. In
its 12/22/15 Order, this Court determined that it lacks in rem
jurisdiction over the M/V Tehani and therefore dismissed the
Tehani as a defendant. Because this dismissal appears to
foreclose the only forum in which Barnes may bring his admiralty
claims against the Tehani, the Court believes this ruling is
determinative of the parties’ substantive rights or liabilities
such that an interlocutory appeal may be brought under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1292(a)(3). Because Barnes need not seek this Court’s
permission prior to filing such an appeal, the Court DENIES AS
MOOT Barnes’s Motion for Leave to File Interlocutory Appeal.

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CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES AS MOOT
Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File Interlocutory Appeal.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED:

Honolulu, Hawaii, December 30, 2015

________________________________
Alan C. Kay
Senior United States District Judge

Barnes v. Sea Hawaii, LLC et al., CV 13-00002 ACK RLP, Order Denying As Moot
Motion for Leave to File Interlocutory Appeal

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