Vincent v. Lake Erie Transportation Co.

Facts

The Lake Erie Transportation Company owned the steamship Reynolds. On November 27, 1905, the Reynolds was moored to a dock in Duluth that belonged to the plaintiffs, Vincent and another, so that she could discharge her cargo. While she unloaded, a storm developed from the northeast. By about ten o'clock that night, when the unloading was done, the wind was moving at fifty miles per hour, and it kept rising through the night. Navigation was practically suspended until the morning of the twenty-ninth. The Reynolds signaled for a tug to tow her from the dock, but none could be obtained because of the storm. If her lines had been cast off, she would have drifted away. Instead, those in charge kept the lines fast. When one parted or chafed, they replaced it, sometimes with a larger one. The wind and waves struck the ship so hard that she was constantly lifted and thrown against the dock. The jury found the damage to the dock to be $500. The part of the wharf where she lay appeared to be commonly used for mooring, and the storm was more violent than any that might reasonably have been expected.

Issues

1. Was it negligent to moor the Reynolds at an exposed part of the wharf, keep her there as the storm grew, and hold her fast instead of trying to leave?
2. When those in charge of a ship, acting prudently in a storm beyond their control, deliberately hold her against another's dock to save her, must the shipowner pay for the damage to the dock?

Holding

Those in charge of the Reynolds were not negligent; they used good judgment and prudent seamanship. But because they deliberately held the ship against the dock and preserved her at the dock's expense, the company had to pay the dock owners for the damage. The only question for the jury was the amount.