Opinion ID: 259948
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: perils of the sea

Text: 17 This court interpreted and applied the Perils clause in New York, N. H. & H. R. R. v. Gray, 240 F.2d 460 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 353 U.S. 966, 77 S.Ct. 1050, 1 L.Ed.2d 915 (1957). There the insured recovered for losses sustained when water leaked into a moored carfloat causing the vessel to list and settle, with a resultant loss of certain cargo. We held that: 18 The loss resulted from a `peril of the seas.' `It is enough that damage be done by the fortuitous action of the sea. For instance, where cargo was damaged by the incursion of seawater through a hole in a pipe gnawed by rats, the House of Lords held this to be a peril of the seas.' That the sea is calm makes no difference. Negligence, whether or not `gross' but for which the accident would not have occurred, will not serve as a defense to such a policy. 19  2 Arnold, Marine Insurance (14th ed.) Section 812. 20  Judge Rifkind in Compania T. Centro-Americana v. Alliance Ass. Co., D.C., 50 F.Supp. 986, 991; Olympia Canning Co. v. Union Marine Ins. Co., 9 Cir., 10 F.2d 72. 21 240 F.2d at 464. 2 The Gray case governs the present case. See also Cary v. Home Ins. Co., 235 N.Y. 296, 300, 139 N.E. 274 (1923); Petrie v. Phenix Ins. Co., 132 N.Y. 137, 144, 30 N.E. 380 (1892); James A. McAllister & Co. v. Western Assurance Co., 218 App.Div. 564, 218 N.Y. S. 658 (1st Dept. 1926); Borgemeister v. Union Ins. Soc'y, 127 Misc. 9, 214 N.Y.S. 548 (City Ct. 1926). 22 The swells which caused the derrick on the No. 12 to buckle were a fortuitous action of the sea, and therefore within the scope of the Perils clause. 23 Appellee cites us to Continental Ins. Co. v. Patton Tully Transp. Co., 212 F.2d 543 (5th Cir., 1954) and Western Assur. Co. v. Shaw, 11 F.2d 495 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 273 U.S. 698, 47 S.Ct. 93, 71 L.Ed. 846 (1926), which contained language to the effect that ordinary swells are not perils of seas or harbors within the meaning of marine insurance policies. The passages relied on by appellee contain alternate holdings at best, since in both cases, the foundered vessels were unseaworthy. Moreover, both decisions rest on findings that swells and waves were not extraordinary under the circumstances. Both rest on the rule that [T]here must be some casualty, something which could not be foreseen as one of the necessary incidents of the adventure. The purpose of the policy is to secure an indemnity against accidents which may happen, not against events which must happen. The Xantho, 12 App.Cas. 503, 509 (1887). 24 Whether the loss resulted from a necessary incident of the venture — i. e. from ordinary wear and tear — or from an accident which could not be foreseen depends, of course, on the nature of the vessel and operation involved. Compania de Navegacion Interior, S. A. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 277 U.S. 66, 80, 48 S.Ct. 459, 72 L.Ed. 787 (1928); Klein v. Globe & Rutgers Fire Ins. Co., 2 F.2d 137 (3d Cir., 1924). In the present case, Stasch was engaged in an extremely delicate operation. Without the use of side slings, the No. 12 could tilt only three degrees without danger to the derrick. Shipping above and below the site of operations was held up, so as to prevent swells. Under these circumstances, the swells caused by the passing freighter were unanticipated and extraordinary, and constituted a peril of the sea within the meaning of the policy. 3