Duplantis v. Shell Offshore, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
948 F.2d 187 (5th Cir. 1991)
Stanley Duplantis (plaintiff), a roustabout for Grace Offshore, slipped on a greasy board on an oil platform owned (but not operated) by Shell Offshore (defendant), fell onto a crane cover, and was injured. Duplantis sued Grace and Shell for negligence; Shell moved for summary judgment, offering Grace-employee affidavits establishing that the board belonged to Grace and that Grace, not Shell, was responsible for rig housekeeping. Duplantis opposed with only an unsworn preliminary letter from an expert claiming inadequate housekeeping, which never addressed the crane-cover placement or established that Shell owned or controlled the board that actually caused his fall. The district court granted Shell summary judgment, and Duplantis appealed.
Whether a party seeking summary judgment must provide affirmative evidence disproving an element of the nonmoving party's claim, even when the burden of proof at trial will rest on the nonmoving party.