The Saginaw

Citation139 F. 906
PartiesTHE SAGINAW AND THE HAMILTON. In re CLYDE S.S. CO.
Decision Date02 August 1905
CourtUnited States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. Southern District of New York

Wing Putnam & Burlingham, for the Old Dominion Steamship Company.

Robinson Biddle & Ward, for the Clyde Steamship Company.

Convers & Kirlin, Hunt, Hill & Betts, A. Leo Everett, and Arthur L Fullman, for various claimants.

ADAMS District Judge.

These are exceptions to the commissioner's report made in the consequence of the decision of this court on the merits of the applications of the owners of the steamships Hamilton and Saginaw to limit their liability. See In re Clyde S.S. Co., etc. (D.C.) 134 F. 95.

The report is as follows:

'The interlocutory decree directed me:

'(1) To take proof as to the amount, validity and priority of all claims for property losses to which exceptions shall be filed as aforesaid, and to report upon the total damages sustained by the two colliding vessels, as well as by the loss and destruction of the cargo and effects upon the Saginaw.

(2) That as to such claims as are already filed to recover for personal injuries and for loss of life of the persons who may have perished by or in consequence of said collision, the Commissioner report the amount of damages in each case with all evidence taken, or introduced, before him, touching such claims so as to enable the court thereafter to determine the amount of damages.

(3) That such report also state the facts and amounts showing the proper ultimate apportionment and adjustment of all collision claims and liabilities, as between the two petitioners herein.'

I. All of the claims for loss of cargo have been compromised and settled and the total amount thereof is stipulated before me to be the sum of . . . . . . . . . $110,633.39

All of the claims for loss of personal effects, and all of the claims for personal injuries, including the claim for the death of Eliza Jones, S. B. Kenney, administrator, have been settled and the amount thereof has been stipulated before me in the sum of . . . . . . . 9,679.06

making a total of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $120,312.45

All of these amounts were paid by the Old Dominion Steamship Company or by the underwriters for its account.

One-half of that amount is chargeable against the Clyde Steamship Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60,156.22

In addition the Clyde Steamship Company should bear one-half of the damage to the steamship 'Hamilton'. The amount thereof, including demurrage, is stipulated at the sum of $11,083.08, one-half of which is . . . . . . . . . 5,541.54

making a total charge against the Clyde Steamship Company of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $65,697.76

Brought forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $65,697.76

On the other hand, it is stipulated that the total loss of the steamer 'Saginaw' is the sum of $90,000, with one-half of which the Clyde Steamship should be credited, namely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,000.00

leaving a balance due the Old Dominion Company of . $20,697.76

Releases from various claimants together with the statements and receipts of the adjustments and settlement of the cargo claims are in evidence before me giving in detail the names of the shippers, the values of their respective shipments, and the amount paid in settlement and adjustment of their claims.

The result of this adjustment is that there are left pending before me only the claims for loss of life.

The following are the death claims:

(1) Primus Gilmore, as administrator of Alfred Gilmore, deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,200
(2) Alvin Lee Joseph, as executor under the will of Edward S. Goslee, deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000
(3) Sallie T. Morris, as administratrix of William Morris, deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000
(4) Mary Swanson, as administratrix of Peter Swanson, deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,000
(5) Mary Anderson, as administratrix of Sarah Elam, deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000
(6) Joseph Lawson, as administrator of Edmund Page, deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,100
(7) Luther Hawley, as widower of Mary Hawley, deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000
(8) Maurice G. Belknap, as administrator of Laura Hawley, deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000

In assessing damages, and in passing upon the question of contributory and imputed negligence, the law to be applied is the law of Delaware if the courts of that state have pronounced upon the question; if they have not, the federal law is to be applied.

It will be remembered that the various claimants are in this court in invitum. These are proceedings to limit liability and the court has issued an injunction against proceedings in any other forum, or by any other proceedings than the present. It is therefore manifestly just that the claimants should not be deprived of any benefits which they might have received, in case the law of Delaware is more favorable to them than the law of the Federal Courts; but on the other hand if there are any principles of law enunciated by the Delaware courts more favorable to the steamship than the law as announced in the Federal Courts, the ship may likewise claim the benefit of them.

That the law of Delaware applies is settled in the case of Northern Pacific Company against Babcock, 154 U.S. 190, 14 Sup.Ct. 978, 38 L.Ed. 954. In that case the contract of employment was made in Montana and the accident occurred in that state; the action was brought in Minnesota: there was a difference in the statutes of the two states as to the amount which the plaintiffs in such cases might recover. The court said, (page 197, 154 U.S., page 980, 14 Sup. Ct., 38 L.Ed. 958):

'The question which those assignments of errors present is, was the amount of damage to be controlled by the law of the place of employment and where the accident occurred, or by the law of the forum in which the suit was pending?

And at page 199 of 154 U.S., and page 981 of 14 Sup. Ct., 38 L.Ed. 958:

'We think there was no error in holding that the right to recover was governed by the lex loci, and not by the lex fori.'

In Slater v. Mexican National Railroad Co., 194 U.S. 120, 24 Sup.Ct. 581, 48 L.Ed. 900, the court said at page 126 of 194 U.S., and page 583 of 24 Sup. Ct., 48 L.Ed. 900, as follows:

'Therefore we may lay on one side as quite inadmissible the notion that the law of the place of the act may be resorted to so far as to show that the act was a tort, and then may be abandoned, leaving the consequences to be determined according to the accident of the place where the defendant may happen to be caught. * * * '

And on page 127 of 194 U.S., and page 583 of 24 Sup.Ct., 48 L.Ed. 900:

'As the cause of action relied upon is one which is supposed to have arisen in Mexico under Mexican laws, the place of the death and the domicile of the parties have no bearing upon the case.'

In Railroad Co. v. Babcock, supra, the court at page 197 of 154 U.S., and page 980 of 14 Supt. Ct., 38 L.Ed. 958, quoted with approval from Herrick v. Minneapolis & St. L.R. Co., 31 Minn. 11, 16 N.W. 413, 47 Am.Rep. 771, the following:

'In such cases the law of the place where the right was acquired, or the liability was incurred, will govern as to the right of action; while all that pertains merely to the remedy will be controlled by the law of the State where the action is brought.'

In the case of Boston and M.R. Co. v. McDuffey, 79 F. 934, at page 937, 25 C.C.A. 247, at page 250, the court held as follows:

'The question whether or not an injured servant shall have the right of action for damages against a negligent master, when such master's negligence has been committed through the instrumentality of another servant, is one which deals with the right of action itself, not with the remedy.'

See, also Maher v. Union Pacific, D. & G.R.R. Co., 106 Fed 309, at page 310, 45 C.C.A. 301, at page 302, where the court applied the law of the place where the collision of railway trains occurred, as settling the liability of the defendants to the plaintiffs for their negligence. See, also, Stewart v. Baltimore & Ohio R.R. Co., 168 U.S. 445, 18 Sup.Ct. 105, 42 L.Ed. 537.

The cases of the Steamboat Company v. Chase, 16 Wall. 522, 21 L.Ed. 369, and City of Norwalk (D.C.) 55 F. 98, cited in the brief for the Steamship do not negative the conclusion above stated. The former case came up to the Supreme Court of the United States by writ of error to the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, in whose courts a right of action for death upon the tidal waters between Providence and Newport, within Rhode Island, sustained by the state courts, was likewise sustained by the Supreme Court, the conclusion being that the right of action given by the state statute for such a death, does not interfere with the exclusive jurisdiction of the District Court conferred by the Constitution and the judiciary acts. While in the City of Norwalk (D.C.) 55 F. 98, the court held that the state statute does not create a cause of action but that it creates a new right and liability, and the court in that case held that the law of imputed negligence of the state applied so far as to defeat the right of the deceased to recover against his own ship.

The law of Delaware, in regard to the law of damages, is stated in the case of Williams v. Walton & Whawnn Co., 9 Houston, 322, 32 A. 726, as follows:

'If the jury shall find a verdict for the plaintiff, then if she is entitled to damages, they are to estimate the reasonable probabilities of the life of the deceased, and give the plaintiff such pecuniary
...

To continue reading

Request your trial
8 cases
  • Petition of Gulf Oil Corporation
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
    • April 6, 1959
    ... ... Baltimore Insular Line, Inc., 1932, 287 U.S. 367, 371, 53 S.Ct. 173, 77 L.Ed. 368 ...          14 Cf. The Hamilton, 1907, 207 U.S. 398, 28 S.Ct. 133, 52 L.Ed. 264. In that case the claims filed were for the pecuniary loss suffered by the decedents' dependents. See The Saginaw and The Hamilton, D.C.S.D.N.Y.1905, 139 F. 906, 910-911, affirmed sub nom. The Hamilton, 2 Cir., 1906, 146 F. 724, affirmed 1907, 207 U.S. 398, 28 S.Ct. 133, 52 L.Ed. 264. It was there held that the law of the state of the shipowner's residence, Delaware, would be applied to permit recovery for ... ...
  • Butler v. Townend
    • United States
    • Idaho Supreme Court
    • April 16, 1931
    ... ... & S. F. Ry. Co. v ... Hughes, 55 Kan. 491, 40 P. 919; Standard Oil Co. v ... Reagan, 15 Ga.App. 571, 84 S.E. 69; Vicksburg etc ... R. Co. v. Putnam, 118 U.S. 545, 7 S.Ct. 1, 30 L.Ed. 257; ... Philadelphia B & W. R. Co. v. Tucker, 35 App. D. C ... 123, L. R. A. 1915C, 39; The Saginaw, 139 F. 906-913; Broz v ... Omaha Maternity etc. Hospital, 96 Neb. 648, 148 N.W. 575, L ... R. A. 1915D, 334.) ... BUDGE, ... J. Lee, C. J., and Givens, Varian and McNaughton, JJ., ... [298 P. 376] ... [50 ... Idaho 544] BUDGE, J ... ...
  • THE PRINCESS SOPHIA
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Western District of Washington
    • December 19, 1929
    ... ... In support of this motion are cited Leahy v. Haworth (C. C. A.) 141 F. 850, 4 L. R. A. (N. S.) 657; The Saginaw and The Hamilton (D. C.) 139 F. 906; Dodge v. Town of North Hudson (C. C.) 188 F. 489; McDonald v. State of Nebraska (C. C. A.) 101 F. 171; Hodges v. Kimball (C. C. A.) 91 F. 845. These cases are not persuasive. In view of the provision of the statute of Washington, and the holding of the Supreme ... ...
  • G.M.M. v. Kimpson, 13–CV–5059.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York
    • July 29, 2015
    ... ... socio-economic [and other] factors ... D. Legal Decisions on "Race " A 1905 decision by a federal court in New York relied on "race"-based statistics and "racial" categories in reducing damages in an admiralty case. [ See The Saginaw and The Hamilton, 139 F. 906 (S.D.N.Y.1905) ]. Two steamships collided, resulting in the deaths of some passengers and crewmembers. Wrongful death actions were brought for six "Colored" and two "White" persons killed in the accident. Rejecting the use of standard mortality tables to predict the ... ...
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT