THE PRINCE RUPERT CITY
| Decision Date | 07 December 1939 |
| Citation | 30 F. Supp. 755 |
| Parties | THE PRINCE RUPERT CITY. HEYER v. REARDON SMITH LINE, Limited. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Florida |
Coe & McLane and John Lewis Reese, all of Pensacola, Fla., for libellant.
Yonge, Beggs & Carter, of Pensacola, Fla., for respondent and claimant.
This cause is before the Court on final hearing upon the libel of John Wesley Heyer, the answer of Reardon Smith Line, Ltd., claimant, and the testimony taken before the Commissioner and before the Court, and having been argued and submitted by the proctors for the respective parties, and due deliberation having been had, the Court now finds as follows:
The steamship "Prince Rupert City" arrived at the Port of Pensacola, Florida, on May 15, 1939, for cargo of scrap iron, and immediately longshoremen were engaged in loading scrap railroad iron rails from ten to thirty-five feet in length in hold number five of said vessel. The Pate Stevedore Company was the stevedoring contractor employed to load said vessel and the libellant was one of the longshoremen engaged by the said Pate Stevedore Company as a workman to assist in such loading. As such workman he had labored in the hold from May 15, 1939, to the afternoon of May 17, 1939, when he undertook to climb out of the hold upon a steel ladder fastened to the ship and leading to the deck, at five o'clock in the afternoon. In so ascending he grasped one of the rungs of the ladder which, it seemed broke off at both ends causing him to fall backwards which resulted in the injury complained of. He fell approximately eighteen feet and landed on top of the shaft tunnel at the bottom of the hold.
It is the contention of libellant that the ladder was unseaworthy; that the rung which gave way and caused his fall had become broken loose at one end (the right hand end), and that claimant had failed and neglected to repair the same, although (it was alleged) said defect was discoverable upon reasonable inspection; and further, that the rung presented the appearance of being substantial and fastened at both ends; that libellant relied thereon assuming it to be solid, and having already broken loose on the right hand end the other end was insufficient to bear his weight.
The claimant in its answer denies the allegations of the libel to the effect that it or those in charge of the vessel failed and neglected to maintain the ladder in a safe and seaworthy condition, and that it had long permitted the rung to be broken loose at one end, and that the defect, if any, was discoverable upon reasonable inspection, and alleged in substance that if any defect existed in the ladder it was hidden and not known to it and could not have been discovered by the exercise of reasonable diligence and care nor by reasonable inspection. There are additional allegations in the answer setting up the facts that the ladder was in fact damaged by the stevedore in the process of loading by being struck by a rail; that the dangers of such loading was openly visible and apparent to the libellant, and that the damage to the ladder was caused by co-laborers working with the libellant, by reason of which claimant contends libellant assumed the risk of injury from acts incidental to the loading as well as those of a fellow servant. The answer also sets up contributory negligence.
To maintain libellant's contention that the ladder had already become broken loose at one end he relies upon a theory that the rung in question had been broken or fractured long prior to the accident, and that by constant use it gradually became weaker until the time of the accident when it gave way. There is no positive proof that this condition existed. On the other hand, the evidence conclusively shows that the ship left the river Tyne in England on April 22, 1939, and came directly to the port of Pensacola; that just prior to her leaving England, for fourteen days she was in dock undergoing repairs, and all the necessary surveys were carried out; that the survey made just prior to her departure was made by the ...
To continue reading
Request your trial