Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Gillespie (P), administratrix of her son's estate, brought an action against U.S. Steel (D) because P's son drowned while working as a seaman on D's ship. P's action was for herself and her dead son's brother and sisters. It was based on the Jones Act and an Ohio wrongful death statute. P sought to recover for negligence, wrongful death, and pain and suffering. Under the Ohio statute, P claimed that D's ship was unseaworthy. The district judge struck the unseaworthy claim, and the recoveries sought by the decedent's brother and sisters (they were not Jones Act beneficiaries). P appealed prior to trial. D moved to dismiss the appeal; the district court's ruling was not a final decision that was appealable. P then filed a petition for mandamus seeking a writ for the district judge to vacate his dismissal. The Court of Appeals heard the appeal on the merits and ruled for D; the court was allowed to decide the matter because D suffered no prejudice from the decision in its favor. Both parties appealed.

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