Case Name: The "Woodland."
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1881-10
Citations: 104 U.S. 180
Docket Number: 
Parties: The “Woodland.”
Judges: 
Reporter: United States Reports
Volume: 104
Pages: 180–183

Head Matter:
The “Woodland.”
Drafts on the owner of a.vessel do not bind her, unless the debt'for which they were given by her master is a lien on her, although they express on their face that they are “ recoverable against the vessel, freight, and cargo.”
Appeal from the .Circuit Court of the United-States for the.Southern District of New York. ,
The facts are stated in the opinion of .the court.
Mr. James Ridgway and Mr. William R. Beebe for the appellants. '
■ Mr. Henry J. Scudder, contra.

Opinion:
Mr. Chief Justice Waite
delivered the opinion of- the court.
This.is a suit in admiralty to recover of the bark " Woodland " and her freight the amount, of two drafts drawn by the master of the vessel at St. Thomas, W. I., on her owners, one for the payment of $2,000, and-the other for the payment of $2,606.40, in New Yoi-k, to the order of J. Niles & Co., merchants in St.' Thomas, ten days after sight. The facts found by the Circuit Court, which, in our opinion, are conclusive of the- case, are as follows : — '
The "Woodland " was a British bark owned by the claimants, residents of St. John, New Brunswick. In -November, 1870, while on a voyage from Montevideo-to New York with a cargo, being in distress, sbe put into the Danish port of St. Thomas for repairs, which were necessary before she could safely proceed on her voyage. J. Niles, who carried on business under the name of J. Niles & Co., attended to the affairs of the vessel at St. Thomas, landed the cargo, and sold a portion of it, on which he received an amount sufficient to reimburse all the moneys expended; but he charged for. commissions and insurance $6,875. As to the insurance, none was actually effected,' and the commissions were on an excessive valuation. The master approved all the bills, and drew drafts on his owners for' a balance of $6,106.24, which expressed on their face that they were "recoverable against the vessel, freight, and cargo." Two of these drafts the libellants discounted, and this suit was brought for their, recovery. The third, for $1,500, was given by Niles to the master upon a corrupt understanding that it was to-be his share. The,two drafts have not been accepted or paid,' and the libellants are the owners thereof, having advanced money upon them in good faith and without any knowledge of the fraudulent acts of Niles and the master.
The drafts did. not themselves create a lien on. the vessel. .Unless the debt for which they were given bound the. vessel, the drafts, notwithstanding what is expressed on-their face,' did not. If the owners owed Niles nothing under his contract with the master for the repairs .and supplies, w'hich had been furnished, he had no lien on the vessel,, which he or any one else could enforcé in admiralty. For the purposes of this suit the libellants occupy no better position than Niles; and if, lie could not recover, they cannot. Having advanced their money in good faith, they may not be affected, so far as their remedies against the parties to the drafts are concerned, by the fraudulent character of the transactions between Niles and the master; but if the vessel owed Niles nothing', it does not owe them..
Now, we think it clear that if Niles were here as appellant instead of these libellants, he would not be entitled to the reversal of this decree upon the findings as they stand. The findings sent here under the act of 1875 furnish the only evidence -of the facts which we can consider. It is incumbent on the libellants to prove a- debt from the vessel to Niles, and its amount; - Until this proof is made they cannot récover. If the settlement between the master and Niles had not been impeached, that would have been enough, for the master is the. agent of the owner for all such purposes. But it has been impeached. The court has expressly found that, although insurance was charged for and allowed, none was ever effected,' and that tbe commissions were calculated on an excessive valuation. It has also found -that there was a corrupt understanding between the-master and Niles, under which the master was given one of the drafts which he drew on his owners, as " his share." .Under these Circumstances it is clear that the approval of the accounts by the master amounts to nothing as evidence of what was actually due, and without that there is nothing to show that Niles is entitled to anything. His advances were all paid by sales of the damaged cargo, and while there was $6,875 allowed him for .commissions and insurance, the balance due to him on the accounts .as stated was only $6,106.24.' Thus ,it appears that in addition to his expenditures he must have received $768.76 on account of commissions. In the absence of anything to show what his services were reasonably worth, we cannot sa.y from the findings that anything is honestly due Niles on his accounts.
It is insisted-, however, that there was no evidence in the case to establish the corrupt understanding between Niles and the master, because a deposition, bearing on that subject was ruled out in the Circuit Court.
It is true such a-deposition was excluded, but without it there is abundant evidence in the testimony of Niles tending at least to support the finding. His account as stated by hirpself can be properly-abstracted as follows :
Bill of supplies...............$216 27
Labor, loading and unloading cargo, wharfage, &c. . . 1,832 38
Paid captain for himself and crew........ 768 14
Sundry bills for repairs . 2,582 93
Total expenditures............. 5,399 72
Receipts from sale of damaged cargo....... 7,035 50
Receipts over actual expenditures..... $1,635 78
Corn's charged on bills of supplies.....$10 81
" " " labor, &c..... 91 63
" " payments to master . . . -38' 41
" " bills for repairs.....129 15
" " sale of cargo......' 352 78
" 2£ per cent on receiving, storing, and shipping cargo......... 3,125 00
Storage, 2 per cent on valuation of cargo . . . 2,500 00
Insurance, 1 per cent on valuation..... 1,250 00
Paid 2£ per cent discount on drafts. . 152 65
Corn's for indorsing and negotiating . 91 59
7,742 02
Balance
$6,106 24
The same witness also testified that the drafts- were all drawn in the same form by the master on the owners to the order of Niles & Co., payable in New York at ten days' sight, and that the.draft for $1,500 was indorsed by Niles & Co. and delivered to the master. The cargo consisted of hides, sheep-skins, kip-skins, horse and cow hair, and shin-bones, and the vessel was detained in St. Thomas about two months.
Without considering any of the other important and interesting. questions which have 'been urged on our attention in the argument, we affirm the decree.
Deeree affirmed.