THE SEA LARK

Decision Date18 June 1926
Docket NumberNo. 9324.,9324.
Citation14 F.2d 201
PartiesTHE SEA LARK.
CourtU.S. District Court — Western District of Washington

G. F. Vanderveer and W. G. Beardslee, both of Seattle, Wash., for libelant.

C. C. Chambers, of Seattle, Wash., for intervening libelant.

Winter S. Martin, of Seattle, Wash., for claimant.

NETERER, District Judge.

"* * * Every person * * * who shall be employed or engaged to serve in any capacity on board the same vessel shall be deemed and taken to be a seaman. * * *" Section 8392, Comp. St. This court, in Hoof v. Pac. Am. Fisheries Co., 284 F. 174, at page 176, affirmed (C. C. A.) 291 F. 306, said:

"`Seaman' no doubt once meant a person `who can hand, reef, and steer' — a mariner in the full sense of the word. As conditions changed, and necessities of changes increased, `seaman' received an enlarged meaning. The cook and surgeon, and employees other than able seamen, were included. Bean v. Stupard, 1 Doug. 11; Allen v. Hallet, 1 Fed. Cas. 472, No. 223. In the J. S. Warden (D. C.) 175 F. 314, a bartender was ranked as a seaman. In the Baron Napier, 249 F. 126, 161 C. C. A. 178, a muleteer, performing the services of a watchman, was given the status of a seaman. In the Buena Ventura (D. C.) 243 F. 797, a wireless operator, employed by another, but placed on the articles at the nominal sum of 25 cents a month, was classed a seaman.

Under a statute defining a "seaman" as a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board any ship, the court held a person in charge of a confectionery stand on board a vessel, and who was engaged by the owner, a seaman. Conner v. The Ship Flora, 6 Exq. Ct. Reports (Can.) 151. A diver, a member of a crew of a scow occupied as a floating derrick with hoisting engine and engaged in the wrecking business, was held a seaman. De Gaetano v. Merritt & Chapman D. & W. Co., 203 App. Div. 259, 196 N. Y. S. 573. Persons employed on a dredge engaged in deepening channels in navigable waters, are seamen within the meaning of section 8392, Comp. St. The Hurricane (D. C.) 2 F.(2d) 70. I think the scow engaged as an excursion boat in and about the waters of Puget Sound and Lake Washington is within Admiralty jurisdiction. See Public Bath No. 13 (D. C.) 61 F. 692; City of Pittsburg (D. C.) 45 F. 699; Rogers v. A Scow Without a Name (D. C.) 80 F. 736; Woodruff v. One Covered Scow (D. C.) 30 F. 269. The musicians, under the disclosed facts, are seamen. Section 8392, supra.

The testimony is conclusive that on October 1, 1924, the Blue Bird was delivered to one Gordon under an agreement that he should be responsible for all claims. He was granted permission to "run a dance on any night he wishes during the month," he to be responsible for all debts incurred in such operation.

Recovery may be had by the libelant for September 20 and September 21, 1924. The libelant testified that he was employed by Ringler, the owner, on each occasion, several days in advance, each engagement being a separate employment; that prior to October 1st, he was engaged by Ringler, owner, or his son in charge during the owner's absence. Libelant testified from memory; his books containing a record of his daily transactions were not in court. The last engagement for the owner was on the night when, on account of a storm or high wind, the engagement was abandoned. The testimony of the towboat company which towed the scow showed this to have been on September 21. The records of the towboat company disclosing such facts, as do...

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18 cases
  • Unemployment Compensation Commission of Wyoming v. Mathews
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • March 11, 1941
    ... ... period as the employer directed. Boyle v. Mahoney & ... Tierney, 92 Conn. 404, 103 A. 127; Center ... Restaurants v. Miller, 18 N.Y.S. 302; Comer v. State ... Tax Commission (N. M.) 29 P.2d 936; Stockwell v ... Morris, 46 Wyo. 1; In re Caldwell, 164 F. 515; ... The Sea Lark, 14 F.2d 201; Claus v. DeVere (Nebr.) ... 235 N.W. 450. Considering the objectives of the Unemployment ... Compensation Law, it is clear that the workers of the type ... here involved were intended to be protected. Carmichael v ... Southern Coal & Coke Co., 301 U.S. 495 ... For ... ...
  • Mahramas v. American Export Isbrandtsen Lines, Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit
    • February 22, 1973
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  • Singh v. Uber Techs. Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit
    • September 11, 2019
    ... ... ICA, Pub. L. No. 49-104, 1, 24 Stat. 379, 379 (1887). 6 The cases that the Court cited in support of this proposition also clearly contemplated the presence of seamen on passenger ships. See The Sea Lark , 14 F.2d 201, 20102 (W.D.Wash.1926) (describing cooks, surgeons, and bartenders as seamen, and holding that musicians on a boat used for excursions were seamen); The Buena Ventura , 243 F. 797, 799 (S.D.N.Y. 1916) (discussing a case that "held that a warranty to carry 30 seamen besides ... ...
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    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts
    • January 31, 2022
    ...that workers not involved in the transport functions of passenger ships were nonetheless seamen. See id. at 543 n.10 (citing The Sea Lark, 14 F.2d 201, 201-02 (W.D. Wash. 1926) (describing cooks, surgeons, and bartenders as seamen, and holding that musicians on a boat used for excursions we......
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