City of Seattle v. Lloyds' Plate Glass Ins.

253 F. 321, 165 C.C.A. 103, 1918 U.S. App. LEXIS 1539
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedOctober 7, 1918
DocketNo. 3112
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 253 F. 321 (City of Seattle v. Lloyds' Plate Glass Ins.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Seattle v. Lloyds' Plate Glass Ins., 253 F. 321, 165 C.C.A. 103, 1918 U.S. App. LEXIS 1539 (9th Cir. 1918).

Opinion

ROSS, Circuit Judge,

(after stating the facts as above). [1, 2] It cannot be doubted that the dynamite, being foreign commerce in transit to its place of destination, was rightfully brought into the harbor of Seattle. Such substance lias long been a legitimate subject of commerce. Actiesselskabet Ingrid v. Central R. Co. of New Jersey, 216 Fed. 72, 132 C. C. A. 316, L. R. A. 1916B, 716; The Ingrid (D. C.) 195 Fed. 596, and cases there cited. The contention of the appellant that the city was without power to designate the place or places within the harbor where such an explosive should be handled, kept, or stored we are unable to sustain. Neither section 4278 nor 4279 of the Revised Statutes (Comp. St. 1916, §§ 8016, 8017), embodying provisions of the act of Congress of July 3, 1866 (14 Stat. 81, 82, c. 162), nor the decisions of the Supreme Court reported, respectively, in Southern Ry. Co. v. United States, 222 U. S. 20, 32 Sup. Ct. 2, 56 L. Ed. 72, Northern Pac. Ry. Co. v. Washington ex rel. Atkinson, 222 U. S. 370, 32 Sup. Ct. 160, 56 L. Ed. 237, and Southern Ry. Co. v. Reid, 222 U. S. 424, 32 Sup. Ct. 140, 56 L. Ed. 257, in our opinion, sustain it.

It is beyond question that, where Congress has legislated in respect to either foreign or interstate commerce, no state or other subordinate legislation upon the same subject is of any validity. But we find no legislation of Congress with respect to the place or places within any harbor of the United States where any kind of explosives shall be handled, kept, or stored. Section 4278 above cited makes it unlawful to transport, carry, or convey, ship, deliver on hoard, or cause to be delivered on board, certain specified kinds of explosives, including nitroglycerin, upon or in any vessel or vehicle used or employed in transporting passengers by land or water, between a place in any foreign country and a place within the limits of any state, territory, or district of the United vStat.es, or between a place in one state, territory, or district of the United States and a place in any other state, territory or district thereof; and section 4279 of the same Statutes makes it unlawful to ship, send, or for [324]*324ward any quantity of such explosives by a vessel or vehicle of anj description, by land or water, between a place in a foreign country and a place within the United States, of between a place in one state, territory, or district of the United States, and a place in any other state, territory, or district.thereof, unless the same shall be securely inclosed, deposited, or packed in a certain prescribed way; and the next section — 4280 (section 8018) — declares that the two preceding sections shall not be so construed as to prevent .any state, territory, district, city, or town within the United States from regulat-. ing or from prohibiting the traffic in or transportation of those substances between persons or places lying or being within their respective territorial limits, or from prohibiting the introduction thereof into such limits for sale, use, or consumption therein.'

In all this we see nothing in any way relating to the place or places in any harbor of the United- States where any kind of an explosive in course of foreign or intrastate commerce shall be placed, kept, ,or stored; and while, as has been said, it is beyond question that where Congress has legislated in respect to either foreign or interstate commerce no state or other subordinate legislation upon the same subject'is of any validity, yet we understand the law to be that, where Congress is silent, the state may legislate in aid of, but withqut burdening, both foreign and interstate commerce. ■ Such we understand to be the effect of the last of the decisions above cited of the Supreme Court, where, at page 436 of 222 U. S., at page 142 of 32 Sup. Ct. (56 L. Ed. 257), the court cited, with apparent approval, its previous decisions in the cases of Atlantic Coast Line R. R. Co. v. Mazursky, 216 U. S. 122, 30 Sup. Ct. 378, 54 L. Ed. 411, and Western Union Tel. Co. v. James, 162 U. S. 650, 16 Sup. Ct. 934, 40 L. Ed. 1105, saying, among other things, that—

“In those cases, and in the later case of Western Union Tel. Co. v. Milling Co., 218 U. S. 406 [31 Sup. Ct. 59, 54 L. Ed. 1088, 36 L. R. A. (N. S.) 220, 21 Ann. Cas. 815], the principle is expressed that ‘there are many occasions where the police power of the state can be properly exercised to insure a faithful and prompt performance of duty within the limits of the state upon the part of those engaged in interstate commerce.’ Such exercise of power, it was further said, was in aid of interstate commerce, and, although incidentally affecting it, did not burden it.”

[3] We readily concede that municipal corporations, which are created by the state and invested with certain governmental powers for local purposes and for the public good, are not liable in damages for their failure to so legislate, or for any mistake in judgment in the matter of any such legislation. Decisions to this effect are very numerous. But we think it is clear that such a corporation has no right to create a public nuisance, ■ and that, if it does so, it is liable for the resultant damage. See Bruhnke v. La Crosse, 155 Wis. 485, 144 N. W. 1100, 50 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1147; Fitzgerald v. Town of Sharon, 143 Iowa, 730, 121 N. W. 523; Mayor, etc., v. Furze, 3 Hill (N. Y.) 612; Hughes v. City of Fond du Lac, 73 Wis. 380, 41 N. W. 407; Hart v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of Union County 57 N. J. Law, 90, 29 Atl. 490.

[325]*325The cases cited and relied upon by the plaintiff in error, in which it was sought to hold the city of Baltimore liable for damages resulting from an explosion in waters over which it had jurisdiction — ' Zywicki v. Jos. R. Foard Co. et al. (D. C.) 206 Fed. 975; Jos. R. Foard Co. v. State of Maryland, 219 Fed. 827, 135 C. C. A. 497; Gutowski v. Mayor, etc., of City of Baltimore, 127 Md. 502, 96 Atl. 630 — were based upon the alleged negligence of that city in designating the place for the transshipment or keeping of the explosive, or negligence in not properly supervising the! handling of it; the Circuit Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit saying in the second of.the cases last referred to (219 Fed. 834, 135 C. C. A. 504):

“Assertion of liability of tlie city of Baltimore is made on the ground that it was negligent in designating the place where the accident occurred for the transshipment of dynamite, in that it was a place frequented by other vessels and that it was negligent in not properly supervising the loading of dynamite where an explosion would probably result in loss of life and property. This position is untenable. The general rule is that actionable negligence cannot be imputed to a city for mistake of judgment, or even negligence, of its officers in performing the governmental function of selecting a place for the loading of explosives from which it derives no profit.”

And in the case of Gutowski v. Mayor, etc., of Baltimore, 127 Md. 502, 96 Atl.

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Bluebook (online)
253 F. 321, 165 C.C.A. 103, 1918 U.S. App. LEXIS 1539, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-seattle-v-lloyds-plate-glass-ins-ca9-1918.