Opinion ID: 1772570
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Directed Verdict on Issue of Unseaworthiness

Text: Plaintiff's theory of liability was that the ladder being used to go from the barge to the cofferdam was too short and could not be properly secured. Plaintiff testified that the ladder the crew had been using before the accident had been removed that morning by another foreman and replaced with the defective ladder. Defendant argues that the trial court should have directed a verdict in its favor on the unseaworthiness issue because the accident did not happen on the barge and the barge had nothing to do with the cause of the accident. In Gutierrez v. Waterman Steamship Corp., 373 U.S. 206, 83 S.Ct. 1185, 10 L.Ed.2d 297 (1963), the Court held that a claim of unseaworthiness could be predicated on faulty cargo containers which caused an injury ashore. The Court stated: These cases all reveal a proper application of the seaworthiness doctrine, which is in essence that things about a ship, whether the hull, the decks, the machinery, the tools furnished, the stowage, or the cargo containers, must be reasonably fit for the purpose for which they are to be used.... (Emphasis added.) 373 U.S. at 213, 83 S.Ct. at 1190. In Mahnich v. Southern S.S. Co., 321 U.S. 96, 64 S.Ct. 455, 88 L.Ed. 561 (1944), a seaman was injured when he fell from a staging because of defective rope. The Court noted that the staging, which was an appurtenance to the vessel, was unseaworthy because it was inadequate for the purpose for which it was ordinarily used. The Court held that the presence of good rope on board which could have made the staging safe was irrelevant. We conclude that the defendant was not entitled to a directed verdict on the unseaworthiness issue either because the accident occurred in the cofferdam or because the ladder which had been used earlier was safe.