NEW ORLEANS - The wife of a deceased seaman who was shot outside of a Venezuela hotel has filed a lawsuit against his employer for failing to place her husband in a safe international hotel.
Plaintiff Edna Cormier originally filed suit against Intermoor Inc. in New Orleans Parish District Court. The defendant removed the case to federal court in New Orleans on June 27.
While employed by the defendant, Craig Cormier was shot and killed on Jan. 27, 2012 on a boardwalk in the eastern state of Sucre, Venezuela, the suit says. At the time, he was on call to repair a vessel, the M/V Turguoise, which services an offshore rig owned by Petroleos de Venezuela.
The lawsuit states that Cormier's hotel was unsafe and that Venezuela's murder rate had doubled in the last 13 years.
The defendant is accused of negligence for failing to provide Craig Cormier with a safe place to work and with an adequately trained crew.
Intermoor is also accused of failing to provide security to Cormier when they had knowledge that violent street crime was rampant in Venezuela.
The plaintiff is asking for an award of $3.5 million in damages, plus interest.
Cormier is represented by New Orleans attorney Darleen M. Jacobs. A jury trial is requested.
U.S. District Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle is assigned to the case.
Case No. 2:12-cv-01676