Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/271/19/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 03:54:21+00:00

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Justia › US Law › US Case Law › US Supreme Court › Volume 271 › Evansville & Bowling Green Packet Co. v. Chero Cola Co.
Evansville & Bowling Green Packet Company v.
A wharfboat, in a river, used as an office, warehouse, and wharf, but not used or capable of use as a means of transportation, held not a "vessel " within the law allowing limitation of liability. Rev.Stats. § 4283; Act of June 19, 1886, 24 Stat. 79. P. 271 U. S. 22.
Appeal from a decree of the district court dismissing, for want of jurisdiction, a petition in admiralty for limitation of liability.
to appellee's merchandise thereon. Appellant filed a petition in admiralty for limitation of liability. Appellees answered, and after a trial at which much evidence as to the character of the structure was given, the district court found that it was not a vessel within the meaning of the statutes sought to be invoked, held that the court was without jurisdiction, and dismissed the cause. The appeal is under § 238, Judicial Code, and the question of jurisdiction alone is certified.
"The liability of the owner of any vessel, for any embezzlement, loss, or destruction, by any person, of any property, goods, or merchandise, shipped or put on board of such vessel, or for any loss, damage, or injury by collision, or for any act, matter, or thing, lost [loss], damage, or forfeiture, done, occasioned, or incurred, without the privity, or knowledge of such owner or owners shall in no case exceed the amount or value of the interest of such owner in such vessel, and her freight then pending."
The Act of June 19, 1886, c. 421, § 4, 24 Stat. 79, 80, makes the provisions relating to limitation of liability apply to "all vessels used on lakes or rivers or in inland navigation, including canal boats, barges, and lighters."
from ice. While in use at Evansville, it was secured to the shore by four or five cables, and remained at the same point, except when moved to conform to the stage of the river. The lower part of the structure was rectangular, 243 feet long, 48 feet wide, and 6 feet deep. It was built of wood, and, to strengthen it and keep the water out, was lined around the sides and ends, extending 18 or 20 inches from the bottom, with concrete eight inches thick. It had no machinery or power for propulsion, and was not subject to government inspection, as are vessels operated on navigable waters. There was plumbing in the structure, and it was connected with the city water system; it obtained current for electric light from the city plant, and had telephone connections. Appellant's office and quarters for the men in charge were located in one end of the structure. There were floats and an apron making a driveway between the land and a door near each end. The wharfboat was used to transfer freight between steamboats and land and from one steamboat to another. Some shippers paid fixed monthly charges for storage of their goods on the structure and for services in transferring them to and from steamboats. Charges made for services performed by its use were for storage and handling, and not for transportation.
applied having regard to the purposes it is intended to subserve and the reasons on which it rests.
The only question presented is whether appellant's wharfboat was a "vessel" at the time it sank. It was an aid to river traffic, but it was not used to carry freight from one place to another. It was not practically capable of being used as a means of transportation. It served at Evansville as an office, warehouse, and wharf, and was not taken from place to place. The connections with the water, electric light, and telephone systems of the city evidence a permanent location. It performed no function that might not have been performed as well by an appropriate structure on the land and by a floating stage or platform permanently attached to the land. It did not encounter perils of navigation to which craft used for transportation are exposed. There appears to be no reason for the application of the rule of limited liability. Many cases, involving a determination of what constitutes a vessel within the purview of the statute have been before the courts, but no decision has been cited, and we have found none, that supports the contention that this wharfboat was a vessel. Cf. Cope v. Valette Dry Dock Co.,119 U.S. 625, 119 U. S. 629; The Robert W. Parsons, 191 U. S. 17, 191 U. S. 30; Ruddiman v. A Scow Platform, 38 F. 158; Patton-Tully Transportation Co. v. Turner, 269 F. 334, 337.

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