An Unnecessary Narrowing, New Orleans Depot Services, Inc. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs: The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' Contraction of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act's Geographic Situs Requirement

Abstract

On April 29, 2013, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in an en banc rehearing, denied Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) coverage to Juan Zepeda because the site at which he was injured did not meet the geographic situs requirement of the LHWCA. Reversing the decision of the Benefits Review Board, the court redefined the term "adjoin" found in § 903(a) of the LHWCA to mean "contiguous with" or to "border on" navigable waters. This holding overruled Texports Stevedore Co. v. Winchester, a 1980 Fifth Circuit decision that defined "adjoin" as "to be near" or "neighboring" navigable water, which implied that contiguity was not necessarily required.