Mediterranean Marine Lines v. John T. Clark & Son
| Decision Date | 10 March 1980 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. H-77-411. |
| Citation | 485 F. Supp. 1330 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
| Parties | MEDITERRANEAN MARINE LINES, INC. and American Export Lines, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. JOHN T. CLARK & SON OF MARYLAND, INC. and Cincinnati Incorporated and The H. J. Hosea & Sons Company, Defendants. CINCINNATI INCORPORATED, Cross-Plaintiff, v. JOHN T. CLARK & SON OF MARYLAND, INC. and The H. J. Hosea & Sons Company, Cross-Defendants. The H. J. HOSEA & SONS COMPANY, Cross-Plaintiff, v. CINCINNATI INCORPORATED and John T. Clark & Son of Maryland, Inc., Cross-Defendants. JOHN T. CLARK & SON OF MARYLAND, INC., Cross-Plaintiff, v. CINCINNATI INCORPORATED and The H. J. Hosea & Sons Company, Cross-Defendants. |
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Kieron F. Quinn, John M. Kinsey and Ober, Grimes & Shriver, Baltimore, Md., for plaintiffs.
R. Roger Drechsler, J. Paul Mullen and Lord, Whip, Coughlan & Green, Baltimore, Md., for defendant John T. Clark & Son of Maryland, Inc.
James W. Bartlett, III and Semmes, Bowen & Semmes, and Mark C. Treanor and Miles & Stockbridge, Baltimore, Md., for defendant Cincinnati Inc.
E. Dale Adkins, III and Anderson, Coe & King, Baltimore, Md., for defendant The H. J. Hosea & Sons Co.
Presently pending in this action are a motion for partial summary judgment filed by defendant John T. Clark & Son of Maryland, Inc. (hereinafter "Clark") and a motion for partial summary judgment filed by defendant The H. J. Hosea & Sons Company (hereinafter "Hosea"). The parties have filed briefs in support of and in opposition to the pending motions, and oral argument has been heard in open court. For the reasons stated herein, Clark's motion will be granted and Hosea's motion will be denied.
This case involves an admiralty and maritime claim arising out of the alleged dropping of a 45,000-pound, metal-working shear while it was being loaded onto the SS YOUNG AMERICA, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland. Plaintiffs, Mediterranean Marine Lines, Inc. (hereinafter "Mediterranean Marine") and American Export Lines, Inc. (hereinafter "American Export") are respectively the owner of and the operator of the SS YOUNG AMERICA, which sustained damages during the loading accident. Named as defendants are the stevedoring company, Clark, which did the loading; the manufacturer of the shear, Cincinnati Incorporated (hereinafter "Cincinnati"); and the freight forwarder and packager of the shear, Hosea.
Cincinnati entered into a contract with Israeleasing Equipment Leasing Company, Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, for the manufacture of a 45,000-pound, metal-working shear. Cincinnati manufactured the metal shear, attached it to two wooden runners and delivered it to Hosea so that it might be prepared for export to Israel. Hosea picked up the metal shear at Cincinnati's plant and transported it to Hosea's facility at Newport, Kentucky. There, Hosea packaged the shear for export and ocean shipment. Hosea placed the shear upon a 17 × 18-foot wooden skid, wrapped it in a double layer of black polyethylene and covered it with a tarpaulin. Hosea then shipped the shear by truck to the Dundalk Marine Terminal in the Port of Baltimore.
Upon arrival at the Dundalk Marine Terminal, the shear was still covered with the polyethylene and tarpaulin. The shear was intended to remain covered in this manner until arrival at its destination in Israel. However, between the time of the shear's arrival at the Terminal on March 12, 1976, and the time of its loading on board ship several weeks later on April 1, 1976, the polyethylene and tarpaulin were removed, presumably during a severe thunderstorm or tornado. Consequently, while the shear was being loaded aboard the YOUNG AMERICA, it was uncovered.
On April 1, 1976, Clark moved the shear from storage to a position beside the YOUNG AMERICA. The shear was rigged with slings and appurtenances and the stevedores then proceeded to lift it aboard the vessel, using a shore-based crane. As the shear was being lifted, the skid to which it was attached broke, and the shear then fell onto the double bottom tank top of the No. 6 port container of the vessel, severely damaging the vessel and destroying the shear.
Mediterranean Marine and American Export, as owner and operator of the YOUNG AMERICA, filed this action in this Court, seeking to recover $125,000 for the damages allegedly sustained, including the cost of repairs to the YOUNG AMERICA, losses due to detention and other costs and expenses incurred. The complaint named as defendants Clark (the stevedore), Cincinnati (the shipper) and Hosea (the freight forwarder). Cincinnati filed a cross-claim against both Clark and Hosea, seeking to recover damages for the loss of the shear and also seeking recovery against these two cross-defendants in the event of a judgment recovered by the plaintiffs, under theories of indemnity and contribution. Clark filed cross-claims against Cincinnati and Hosea, and Hosea cross-claimed against Clark and Cincinnati under similar theories of indemnity and contribution.
The pending motions for partial summary judgment relate only to some of these cross-claims. Clark's motion seeks partial summary judgment in its favor with respect to the two cross-claims of Cincinnati and Hosea. Clark contends that under the provisions of the bill of lading and of the Carriage of Goods By Sea Act, 46 U.S.C. § 1300 et seq. (hereinafter "COGSA"), its liability to Cincinnati for damages to the shear must be limited to $500. Clark further contends that its potential liability on Cincinnati's and Hosea's cross-claims for indemnity and contribution should similarly be limited to $500.
Both Cincinnati and Hosea have filed oppositions to Clark's motion. In the alternative, Hosea has itself filed a motion for partial summary judgment. Hosea contends in its motion that if Clark is allowed to limit its liability, then Hosea should likewise be allowed to limit its liability under its cross-claims to $500 under the terms of the bill of lading and COGSA.
The pending motions present the question whether under the facts of this case Clark, the stevedore, is entitled to the $500 limitation of liability contained in COGSA. § 1304(5) provides in pertinent part as follows:
(5) Neither the carrier nor the ship shall in any event be or become liable for any loss or damage to or in connection with the transportation of goods in an amount exceeding $500 per package lawful money of the United States, or in case of goods not shipped in packages, per customary freight unit, or the equivalent of that sum in other currency, unless the nature and value of such goods have been declared by the shipper before shipment and inserted in the bill of lading. This declaration, if embodied in the bill of lading, shall be prima facie evidence, but shall not be conclusive on the carrier.
In Herd and Company v. Krawill Machinery Corp., 359 U.S. 297, 79 S.Ct. 766, 3 L.Ed.2d 820 (1959), the Supreme Court held that this provision limited the liability of the carrier but not that of the stevedore if the latter were not a party to nor beneficiary of the contract of carriage between the shipper and the carrier. Id. at 308, 79 S.Ct. at 772. However, a stevedore may be entitled to the benefit of COGSA's $500 limitation of liability if the bill of lading covers the stevedore. Carle & Montanari, Inc. v. American Export Isbrandtsen Lines, Inc., 275 F.Supp. 76, 78 (S.D.N.Y.), aff'd 386 F.2d 839 (2d Cir. 1967), cert. denied, 390 U.S. 1013, 88 S.Ct. 1263, 20 L.Ed.2d 162 (1968).
What must be determined here is whether there was an outstanding bill of lading in this case which extended the COGSA $500 limitation of liability to Clark. If so, the further question presented is whether the metal shear in this case, as mounted on the wooden skid, constituted a "package" under COGSA.
This action was filed almost three years ago and the parties have meanwhile engaged in extensive discovery. As disclosed by the discovery to date, the facts essential to the issues presented by the pending motions are not in dispute. Since there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, this Court has concluded that Clark is entitled to partial summary judgment as a matter of law under Rule 56, F.R.Civ.P. However, Hosea's motion must be denied as a matter of law.
Clark bases its claim for limitation of liability upon Paragraphs 1 and 16 of American Export's bill of lading. The provisions in question state in pertinent part:
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