Hassinger v. Tideland Electric Membership Corporation

781 F.2d 1022 (4th Cir. 1986)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

On June 5, 1982, Hassinger, Proctor, Powell, and King sailed two eighteen-foot Hobie Cat sailboats across the Sound to Silver Lake in Okracoke, North Carolina. They decided to beach their boats. In the process of beaching the Hassinger boat, the mast hit an energized, uninsulated power line carrying 7,200 volts of electricity. King was thrown clear and survived. Hassinger, Powell, and Proctor were electrocuted.

Ps brought these actions against Ds, the owner and operator of the power line, and against Catamaran and Coleman, the alleged designers, manufacturers, and sellers of the Hassinger sailboat. Jurisdiction was based in part on admiralty pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1333 and 46 U.S.C. § 740. Ps alleged that the court had federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 over Tideland (D) and diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 over Coleman and Catamaran (D). The court later dismissed the federal question claims against Tideland (D). Tideland (D) filed a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Coleman and Catamaran (D) filed a motion to dismiss the application of admiralty law to them. The district court found that it did have jurisdiction in admiralty. It then certified for interlocutory appeal 'the admiralty jurisdiction issue.'