THE HS INC. NO. 72
| Decision Date | 11 July 1941 |
| Docket Number | No. A. 8658.,A. 8658. |
| Parties | THE H. S. INC. NO. 72. Petition of HENRY STEERS, Inc. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
Samuel F. Shatz, of Newark, N. J., for claimant John Cifrondello.
Collins & Corbin and Charles Broadhurst, all of Jersey City, N. J., for libelant.
The facts are:1
1. Henry Steers, Incorporated, was and still is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, and was the owner of a deck scow known and designated in the proceedings as "H. S. Inc. No. 72". The deck scow "H. S. Inc. No. 72" was built of wood. Its length was 112.4', its width or beam 32.4', and its depth of hold 9'. It was used for the transportation of sand, gravel, stone, or other supplies of like character on the deck thereof.
2. On and prior to August 7, 1936, one Hugo Wuori was employed by Henry Steers, Incorporated, as a scow captain on said "H. S. Inc. No. 72" and was the only employee on said scow and in sole charge of said scow.
3. On August 7, 1936, the said "H. S. Inc. No. 72" was moored on the west side of the Passaic River at or near the foot of Coal Street, in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, just north of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's new terminal. It was moored parallel with the bulkhead on the west bank of the river and was the most easterly of three deck scows similarly moored at said point. It was in the navigable waters of the United States loaded with sand and gravel and in charge of Hugo Wuori.2
4. Early in the afternoon of August 7, 1936, Vito Cifrondello, the deceased, a young man of 15½ years, went to the west bank of the Passaic River at or near the foot of Coal Street, Newark, New Jersey, with Angelo Agrifolio, Frederick Anderson and Salvatore Morrillo. After undressing themselves on a pile of logs, they went swimming in the river and while they were doing so, a man (name unknown) on the center scow called to them asking who had put dirt on scow No. 72. One or several of the aforesaid swimmers denied the act and suggested they would clean it off if given permission to dive from the barge. Later all four swam to "H. S. Inc. 72", where partly submerged they held onto the upstream end, Angelo near the midstream side, Anderson to his right, Morrillo was to the left of Anderson and to his right was Vito, who was further out of the water than any of the others. Vito was holding onto a black rubber tire which served as a bumper, when suddenly Hugo Wuori came out of his cabin, which was located at the upstream end of the scow and near where the boys were. He was using profanity and swinging a rubber hose measuring 22 inches in length with a diameter of approximately 1 1/8 inches, in which a wooden plug had been inserted at each end to hold therein gravel or shot which gave it weight; Hugo Wuori swung in the direction of several of the boys, who dropped back into the water and pushed away from the barge. He then saw Vito, who was still hanging on, and he struck his several times with the hose despite his cries that he could not swim very well. Vito then fell back into the water and his body was not recovered from the river until several hours thereafter.
5. Hugo Wuori willfully, deliberately and with utter disregard for the consequences struck out with the rubber hose hitting Vito Cifrondello, who as a proximate result thereof drowned.
Discussion.
Hugo Wuori testified during the trial that on the day in question he left his scow, went to the pay-shed of Henry Steers, Inc., and after receiving his money, he went with another man to a restaurant in Newark. On his return to the scow about 3 P. M., and while crossing both the scow nearest the river bank and scow No. 76, the center one of the three scows moored at or near the foot of Coal Street, Newark, New Jersey, Miller, the captain thereof, told him that a mess had been made on the deck of his scow by the boys, that he then went aboard his scow and into the cabin where he lay down. Later, on hearing Miller call out that the boys were returning, he jumped up, took a rubber hose from his closet3 and went out the door, seeing the heads and hands of 3-4 boys, he swung the hose at the boys, who pushed away from the scow. Then he looked to his left and at or near the corner and in the water he saw the head and hands of a boy, who was swimming but not making any headway, that he went to the corner and with the hose in his hand, called to the boy: That he held the hose in the direction of the boy, who tried to get hold of it unsuccessfully, and the last time he saw the boy he was between scow No. 72 and 76.
The court does not believe the story told by Hugo Wuori, it does believe the boys in the company of Vito, and it finds Hugo Wuori willfully, deliberately and with utter disregard for the consequences struck out with the rubber hose, hitting Vito, who drowned as a proximate result thereof.
One of the duties of Hugo Wuori, the captain of "H. S. Inc. No. 72" was to see that the goods transported on his boat reached their...
To continue reading
Request your trial