The Sylvan Glen
| Decision Date | 04 October 1881 |
| Citation | 9 F. 335 |
| Parties | THE SYLVAN GLEN, etc. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
W. W Goodrich, for libellant.
R. D Benedict, for claimant.
BENEDICT D.J.
This action is brought by John Welsh, administrator of Margaret Welsh, deceased, to recover, for the benefit of himself and the next of kin of Margaret Welsh, the damages sustained by him and such next of kin by reason of the death of said Margaret Welsh, which death, it is averred, was caused by the negligence of those in charge of the steam-boat Sylvan Glen in running over a small boat wherein the deceased was being transported upon the East river.
It is supposed by the libellant that the determination of the case depends upon the question of fact whether the death in question was caused by negligence on the part of those navigating the steam-boat; but there lies at the threshold of the case a question of law, which, as I view it, is decisive of the controversy. The right of action set up in the libel is derived from a statute of the state of New York which provides that--
'Whenever the death of a person shall be caused by wrongful act neglect, or default, and the act, neglect, or default is such as would, if death had not ensured, have entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof, then and in every such case the person who, or the corporation which, would have been liable if death had not ensured, shall be liable to an action for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person injured. ' Act of December 13, 1847, as amended by act of April 7, 1849, and act of March 16, 1870.
This statute does not provide for the survival of any right of action belonging to the deceased. It creates a liability where none before existed. It makes a new cause of action namely, the death, and it declares who shall be liable to such action, and by whom, as well as for whose benefit, the action may be maintained. It is not doubted that the right created by this statute of the state may be enforced, in a proper case, by the courts of the United States; nor that it may be enforced in the admiralty, when a marine tort is the foundation of the right. These propositions have not been controverted here, but they by no means afford ground on which to maintain this action; for this is an action in rem, and, if maintainable at all, must rest upon the proposition that the libellant, by virtue of this statute of...
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The City of Norwalk
... ... a suit in rem would not lie where the state statute gave no ... lien, thereby confirming the decision of Judge Benedict in ... The Sylvan Glen, 9 F. 335, and that of Judge Butler in The ... North Cambria, 40 F. 655. In his opinion in the latter case, ... Judge Butler observes, that if ... ...
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA, BY AND THROUGH DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME v. SS Bournemouth
... ... A/S Nye Kristianborg, 84 F.Supp. 775 (D.Md.1949); Welsh v. The North Cambria, 40 F. 655 (E.D.Pa. 1889); and The Sylvan Glen, 9 F. 335 (E.D.N.Y.1881) all involved actions for wrongful death ... The courts have long recognized that suits for wrongful ... ...
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The A.W. Thompson
... ... 81; The Garland, Id. 924; The Clatsop Chief, 8 F ... 163; The E. B. Ward, 17 F. 456; The Manhasset, 18 F. 920; The ... Sylvan Glen, 9 F. 335; The Cephalonia, 29 F. 334; Butler ... v. Steam-Ship Co., 130 U.S ... , 9 S.Ct. 612, 619. The ... action rests entirely upon the ... ...
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Andrade v. United States
... ... The Corsair, 145 U.S. 335, 12 S.Ct. 949, 36 L.Ed. 727; The Sylvan Glen, D.C., 9 F. 335; The Manhasset, D.C., 18 F. 918; Welsh v. The North Cambria, D.C., 40 F. 655; State of Maryland v. A/S Nye Kristianborg, D ... ...