Gulisano v. American Export Lines, Inc.
| Decision Date | 20 December 1962 |
| Citation | 212 F. Supp. 809 |
| Parties | Josephine GULISANO, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN EXPORT LINES, INC., Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff, v. McROBERTS PROTECTIVE AGENCY, INC., Third-Party Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Paul Cherin, New York City, for plaintiff.
Rudser & Fitzmaurice, New York City, for defendant and third party plaintiff; James Hogarty, New York City, of counsel.
Abberley, Kooiman, Amon & Marcellino, New York City, for third party defendant; David C. Johnson, New York City, of counsel.
This is an action brought by plaintiff for personal injuries sustained on a pier leased by the defendant American Export Lines, Inc. Trial by jury was waived.
Josephine Gulisano, plaintiff, is a citizen of the United States and a resident of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Defendant American Export Lines, Inc. is a New York corporation, with its principal place of business in New York, N. Y. On January 24, 1959, American Export Lines, Inc. was a lessee of Pier 84, North River, City and State of New York, pursuant to an agreement with the City of New York.
On January 24, 1959, plaintiff, a 63 year old woman, having first obtained a customs pass, went to Pier 84 to meet her brother-in-law, who was arriving that morning on the S.S. INDEPENDENCE. She arrived in the company of her nephew and sister at 9:00 A.M. They were told to go to a part of the pier on the second deck to await the arrival of the ship. The area in which the plaintiff and the other people waited was created by a barricade or fence, approximately 4 or 5 feet high. Entrance to the pier itself was to be given by passing through a gateway approximately 5 feet wide, which was guarded by a man whose job it was also to collect the customs passes. Still in the company of her nephew and sister, the plaintiff proceeded to a point about 12 feet from the gateway. She waited at this point for about 20 or 25 minutes. By the end of her wait a crowd of about 600 people had gathered with her in the visitors' area.
At about 9:25 A.M. the guard at the gateway informed the people that they could proceed and should have their passes ready. He then opened the gate and collected the passes, as the people rushed through. As soon as the gate was opened, the people from the back started pushing the people forward. The plaintiff gave her pass to the guard and as she took about 7 or 8 steps beyond the guard, the plaintiff was thrown to the floor of the pier by the oncoming surge of people trying to gain access to the pier. In the plaintiff's words, The plaintiff was trampled upon and screamed out. She was assisted to her feet and taken to the pier guard who sent her downstairs to a doctor. The doctor called an ambulance and she was sent to a hospital for further treatment. It is agreed and stipulated that the woman received a dislocated elbow.
Plaintiff contends that the accident and injuries were occasioned solely through the negligence of the defendant American Export Lines, Inc. in failing to properly supervise the entrance of visitors on the pier; in permitting visitors to push and shove in an uncontrolled manner; and in its failure to take proper precautions for the public's safety. There was no evidence that plaintiff was in any way contributorily negligent.
I find that the American Export Lines, Inc. was negligent in that it failed to have a sufficient number of guards at the customs gateway to control the persons entering the pier through the gateway.
It is the defendant's contention that it was not negligent, in that in the past it had been its practice to hire guards to police the pier and that this practice has worked out satisfactorily. It should be pointed out, however, that merely because a practice was continued for a long period of time does not necessarily mean that the...
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