Jefferson v. Taiyo Katun, KK
| Decision Date | 28 November 1962 |
| Docket Number | No. 19971.,19971. |
| Parties | William H. JEFFERSON, Appellant, v. TAIYO KATUN, K. K. et al., Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Herman Wright, Mandell & Wright, Houston, Tex., for appellant.
Bryan F. Williams, Jr., Galveston, Tex., Frank G. Harmon, Houston, Tex., Baker, Botts, Shepherd & Coates, Houston, Tex., of counsel, for appellees.
Before HUTCHESON, CAMERON and JONES, Circuit Judges.
The appellant brought an action against the owner of a steamship for damages claimed as a result of an injury he had received while working as a stevedore in the loading of the vessel. Suit was brought on the dual theory of negligence of the owner's employees and the unseaworthiness of the vessel. At the trial the claim of negligence was abandoned. The appellant requested and the court refused to give an instruction that the vessel was unseaworthy as a matter of law. At the time of the injury the appellant was stowing cotton in one of the holds of the vessel and, with others of the crew, was walking upon dunnage laid upon barrels which constituted a part of the cargo. The district court propounded to the jury the question as to whether the appellant was injured by the breaking of a dunnage board, and the jury gave an affirmative answer. The next question put to the jury was whether the dunnage board was unseaworthy at the time of the appellant's accident. The jury answered that "it was seaworthy." Judgment was entered for the owner of the vessel on the special verdict of the jury and from that judgment this appeal has been taken.
The sole question for us to determine is whether, as a matter of law, the vessel was unseaworthy and the appellant was entitled to an instructed verdict on liability. It will be a rare case where the issue of unseaworthiness as the proximate cause of an injury is to be resolved for or against a shipowner as a matter of law. Norris, Maritime Personal Injuries, 106-107, § 43. This is not such a case; and we do not think there would be any addition made to the jurisprudence in the field by a recital of the evidence. The Supreme Court, in discussing the setting aside of jury verdicts in cases involving the seaworthiness of a vessel by appellate courts, has said:
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Williams v. Dann Marine Towing, LC
...Contractors, Inc. , 666 F.3d 373, 380 (5th Cir. 2012) and Schoenbaum, Admiralty & Maritime Law § 6:25 ).99 Jefferson v. Taiyo Katun, K.K. , 310 F.2d 582, 583 (5th Cir. 1962) (citing Norris, Maritime Personal Injuries § 43); Cook v. Am. S.S. Co. , 53 F.3d 733, 742 (6th Cir. 1995) (citing Rop......
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Marshall v. Ove Skou Rederi A/S
...or inferrable defect, sufficient to render the vessel unseaworthy as a matter of law. This Court noted in Jefferson v. Taiyo Katum, K.K., 310 F.2d 582, 583 (5 Cir. 1962) that "It will be a rare case where the issue of unseaworthiness as the proximate cause of an injury is to be resolved for......
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United States Lines Company v. Williams, 22087.
...or both. Recognizing that unseaworthiness is ordinarily a question of fact for jury or fact-finder resolution, Jefferson v. Taiyo Katun, K.K., 5 Cir., 1962, 310 F.2d 582, 583, cert. den. 1963, 372 U.S. 967, 83 S.Ct. 1091, 10 L.Ed.2d 130, although it may be, Walker v. Harris, 5 Cir., 1964, 3......
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Mills v. Mitsubishi Shipping Company
...the issue of unseaworthiness as the proximate cause of an injury is to be resolved * * against a shipowner as a matter of law," 5 Cir., 1962, 310 F.2d 582, 583, cert. denied, 1963, 372 U.S. 967, 83 S.Ct. 1091, 10 L.Ed.2d 130. (Emphasis added.) Rare or not, unseaworthiness is not always a fa......