Luckenbach Co v. the Thekla

Decision Date01 December 1924
Docket NumberNo. 258,258
Citation45 S.Ct. 112,266 U.S. 328,69 L.Ed. 313
PartiesLUCKENBACH S. S. CO., Inc., et al. v. THE THEKLA
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Mr. Solicitor General Beck, of Washington, D. C., for Steamship Co.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 329-333 intentionally omitted] Messrs. Charles S. Haight and John W. Griffin, both of New York City, for the Thekla.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 334-338 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice HOLMES delivered the opinion of the Court.

This case comes here upon a certificate from the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, stating more at length the following facts. The Luckenbach Steamship Company on behalf of itself and the other owners libelled the barque Thekla in admiralty for a collision with the steamship F. J. Luckenbach. The owners of the Thekla moved under the old fifty-third admiralty rule for a stay until the libellant should give security to respond in damages as claimed in the cross libel, and filed a claim, stipulation for value, an answer and a cross bill against the steamer. On October 7, 1918, the motion was granted and the libel and cross libel were consolidated and proceeded as one cause. On June 4, 1919, the United States was made a party libellant upon its motion and stood on the Steamship Company's libel. It filed a claim 'without submitting itself to the jurisdiction' of the Court, alleging possession and ownership at the time when the libel was filed. Thereupon a stipulation executed by the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation was filed, which recited that the F. J. Luckenbach was under requisition charter to, and in the possession of the United States, claimant, at the time of the collision; that the liability, if any, was that of the United States, acting through the Corporation, the operator of it; and that the Corporation agreed in case of default on the part of the claimant that execution should issue against its chattels and lands in the sum of $130,000. The condition was that the claimant and Corporation should abide by all orders of the Court and pay the amount awarded by the final decree. On October 3, 1919, the Steamship Company on behalf of itself and other owners, excepted to the cross libel on the ground that the steamship being under charter to the United States the matters alleged in the cross libel were not within the jurisdiction of the Court. At the trial it appeared that the United States was owner pro hac vice, as alleged, using the vessel for war service, and that the Luckenbach alone was in fault, a finding affirmed by the Circuit Court of Appeals. A decree was entered against the claimant and stipulator for the damages, $120,619.71, with interest and costs.

The first question certified is: Was the District Court empowered by law to render the decree entered? In answer the Government relies upon the proposition established by The Western Maid, 257 U. S. 419, 42 S. Ct. 159, 66 L. Ed. 299, that the collision inflicted no legal wrong upon the Thekla, and the further proposition that generally speaking a claim that would not constitute a cause of action against the sovereign cannot be asserted as a counterclaim, Illinois Central R. R. Co. v. State Public Utilities Commission of Illinois, 245 U. S. 493, 504, 505, 38 S. Ct. 170, 62 L. Ed. 425; see also Nassau Smelting & Refining Works v. United States (November 17, 1924) 266 U. S. 101, 45 S. Ct. 25, 69 L. Ed. ——, and that a cross libel is governed by the same rule, Washington-Southern Navigation Co. v. Baltimore & Philadelphia Steamboat Co., 263 U. S. 629, 44 S. Ct. 220, 68 L. Ed. 480.

We do not qualify the foregoing decisions in any way, but nevertheless are of opinion that the District Court had power to enter a decree for damages. When the United States comes into Court to assert a claim it so far takes the position of a private suitor as to agree by implication that justice may be done with regard to the subject matter. The absence of legal liability in a case where but for its sovereignty it would be liable does not destroy the justice of the claim against it. When the question concerns what would be paramount claims against a vessel libelled by the United States were the vessel in other hands, the moral right of the...

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