Bobby Windham and Michael E. Wiley Victorious Against Offshore Painting Contractors, Inc., et al.

June 28th, 2010

In this consolidated case, the Plaintiffs suffered serious personal injuries when a pop-off valve malfunctioned during venting of a pressure vessel on a fixed production platform. Plaintiff’s counsel proved several failures on the part of the Defendants in venting the vessel properly. Failures included a metallurgical defect a component of the valve, plans for the platform called for a venting system different from what was installed, and that using a swing arm would have been the proper way to vent the vessel, keeping the flames away from the platform in a downwind direction. Defendant Chevron appealed. The Fifth Circuit found that the appeal was frivolous, affirming the judgments of the trial court. This case was used as a basis for a trial demonstration during an ABA Convention. It was further used as the basis for a lecture to Professor Carbonneau’s product’s liability class at Tulane Law School.

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