Court Opinion

ID: 9453509
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 18:15:43.588661+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:33:41.443525
License: Public Domain

MOORE, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
After reinstatement of the Albanese verdict by the Supreme Court, 382 U.S. 283, 86 S.Ct. 429, 15 L.Ed.2d 327 (1965), Holland America argued to this court that it was entitled to judgment against I. T. O. as a matter of law. That motion was denied on March 1, 1966, determining that there was an issue of fact to be resolved.
Specifically, Holland America had to prove on the retrial of the indemnity claim that its liability was proximately caused by a breach of warranty of workmanlike service on the part of I. T. O. From the evidence on the retrial, the jury could have found that I. T. O. did not breach its warranty or act unreasonably. The ship was equipped with a Cargocaire ventilation system that was admitted to be adequate for ventilation of the hold where the hi-los were operating, and the stevedore could certainly have been found to be justified in waiting a few minutes before ordering the men out in the expectation that the ship’s blowers would be turned on.
I. T. O. would not be relieved of liability simply because it told a ship’s officer to turn on the blowers. Instant case, 346 F.2d at 484. See also Mortensen v. A/S Glittre, 348 F.2d 383 (2d Cir. 1965). But I. T. O. should not be held liable merely because its machines were producing fumes, without regard to whether the ship had an adequate ventilation system that could be expected to be in operation. Since such a system existed, and since the jury has decided that it was reasonable for I. T. O. to rely momentarily on its being turned on, any failure on the part of I. T. O. to use its testing equipment or portable blowers is irrelevant. This is not to say that a jury verdict for Holland America was required by the evidence, but only that the jury’s decision should not be disturbed. The entry of judgment notwithstanding the verdict (and the overruling of this court’s prior determination that there was a triable issue on essentially the same facts as are before us now) is in my opinion an unjustified usurpation of the function of the jury.