Patrick B. Vaughn v. United States of America

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent*
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
The Honorable Edward R. Korman, Senior District Judge for the U.S.**
District Court for the Eastern District of New York, sitting by designation.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK B. VAUGHN,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant - Appellee.
No. 11-55707
D.C. No. 2:09-cv-01351-DSF-PLA
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Dale S. Fischer, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted January 7, 2013
Pasadena, California
Before: W. FLETCHER and RAWLINSON, Circuit Judges, and KORMAN,
Senior District Judge.**
Appellant Patrick Vaughn (Vaughn) appeals the district court’s dismissal of
his negligence and unseaworthiness claims against the United States.
FILED
MAR 05 2013
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U .S. C OU R T OF APPE ALS

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The district court did not commit clear error in finding that Vaughn failed to
prove negligence under the Jones Act. The district court’s finding that Vaughn’s
injury was caused by his own decision to lift the life raft canister manually was
“plausible in light of the entire record, . . . [and we] may not reverse . . .” Balen v.
Holland Am. Line, Inc., 583 F.3d 647, 655 (9th Cir. 2009) (citations omitted).
Nor did the district court commit clear error in finding that manual lifting of
life raft canisters was not an unsafe work method that rendered the Cape Jacob
unseaworthy. This finding was plausible given the multiple witnesses who testified
that it is incumbent upon seamen to manually lift life raft canisters in the course of
their duties. See Conrad v. United States, 447 F.3d 760, 768 (9th Cir. 2006) (noting
that a district court’s decision to credit testimony uncontroverted by extrinsic
evidence “can virtually never be clear error”) (citation omitted).
AFFIRMED.

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