Simpson v. The State of California

54 F. 404, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 1456
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 6, 1893
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 54 F. 404 (Simpson v. The State of California) 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
Simpson v. The State of California, 54 F. 404, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 1456 (9th Cir. 1893).

Opinion

HANFORD, District Judge.

This case comes before this court a second time by appeal from the district court for the northern district of California, this court having upon the former hearing remanded it for the purpose of assessing the damages to both vessels. Upon the last hearing in the district court no new evidence relating to the damages sustained by the State of California was offered in behalf of either party, and upon the evidence taken prior to the former appeals the court awarded the same amount of damages as by its first decree, with accrued interest and costs, amounting to the total sum of $16,050.43. The court received evidence as to the damages sustained by the Portland, and determined the amount thereof, with interest and costs, to be $11,307.05, and decreed that the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, owner of the State of California, recover from the claimants of the Portland the sum of $2,371.69, being one half the difference between the amounts above stated.

The questions now to be considered relate entirely to items allowed in favor of the State of California and to items claimed by the owner of the Portland which were disallowed by the district court, no appeal having been taken by the claimant of the State [407]*407of California. The items in. dispute are all .stated in the assignment, of errors, and they will be disposed of in the order therein set forth.

The first assignment specifies no error, and the second is unimportant. Both may be passed without further consideration.

The gist of the grievance alleged in the third assignment is that the evidence does not warrant an alio waned for demurrage to the State of California for her detention while undergoing repair, and in, the argument it is insisted that the amount allowed was arrived at by an improper rule for estimating demurrage. The right to compensation for loss sustained by actual detention of a vessel in consequence of a collision with another vessel found to be wholly or partially in fault is settled by numerous decisions and the uniform practice of the courts of this country, and it is our opinion that the value of the use of the injured vessel during the time of actual, necessary detention is the proper measure of the amount to be allowed. While the evidence in this case does not contain opinions or estimates of the value of the use of the steamship during the time of her detention of persons having knowledge qualifying them to testify as experts, it does show the facts as to the number of days lost while the damages caused by the collision were being repaired, and shows the average daily earnings of the vessel for a period extending from six months prior to the end of six months subsequent to the date of the collision, from which the court could a,s well determine the capacity of the ship and the condition of the trade in which she was then engaged, and make a fail* estimate of the value of her use during the time of her detention, as from expert evidence. The fact that another vessel belonging to the same owner was used as a substitute foi the disabled steamer during the time of her detention should not militate against the right to compensation, nor afford just cause for awarding less than would be allowed if the owner, from lack of enterprise or inability, failed to have an available substitute for rise in such an emergency. Upon consideration of the evidence, we are satisfied that the amount allowed for demurrage is reasonable.

The fourth, fourteenth, and seventeenth assignments are general, and specify no error.

The fifth, thirteenth, and fifteenth assignments relate to the interest allowed on disbursements for repairs to the steamer, and they are inconsistent with each other. In the fifth the complaint is that the court erred in overruling an exception to the report of the commissioner, who, under an order of reference, took the evidence, and made findings as to the amount of damages sustained, which exception is on the ground that the commissioner allowed interest on disbursements. The thirteenth specifies as error that it appears by the report of the commissioner, “that the damage suffered by the State of California was $11,876.05, where said decree recites it as being $16,050.43.” In his argument the proctor for the appellants concedes that the difference between the two amounts can he accounted for by adding to the lesser sum [408]*408costs and interest, and attacks the interest item, not on the ground of inaccuracy in the computation, nor because interest in such a case is unlawful, but because, as he asserts, 'the commissioner discriminated by allowing interest on disbursements for repairs to the Portland, and allowed no interest to the appellee, and in justifying the report as construed by him he uses the following language in his brief:

“Now, in oases of collision, interest is not a matter of right. It does not necessarily follow from an award of damages. It is a matter of discretion, to be awarded or not awarded, according to the equities of the case; and where both vessels are in fault the degree of fault is to be considered in awarding interest. The North Star, 44 Ned. Rep. 492; The Alaska, Id. 498. The commissioner, exercising his discretion, awarded interest to the Portland, and not to the State of California. That report, not having been excepted to by respondent, and having been confirmed by the court below, is not open to exception or impeachment by the respondent in this court.”

This is quite ingenious, but may be well answered in two ways: First. The record shows that by a supplemental report filed May 10, 1892, the commissioner submitted the testimony taken, and his report made on the first hearing, relating to the damages to the State of California, and the order of the court based thereon, by which it appears that interest on disbursements from dates of payments was allowed in the same words as in his award of interest to the appellants as per his last report; and there is in the record no indication of an intention on the part of the commissioner to discriminate by disallowing interest to the appellee. On the contrary, he did award interest as stated in the fifth assignment. Secondly. This court decided that both vessels were in fault, and ordered that the damages and costs be divided between them equally. We will not presume that the commissioner, upon a subsequent reference of the case to him, disregarded the rule for apportioning the losses promulgated by that decision, and distinctly set forth in the mandate.

The .sixth assignment specifies error in disallowing a bill of $100 in favor of Capt. Trask, a part owner of the Portland, for his services in superintending the repairs to said vessel. We hold that this item was properly disallowed. The evidence shows that Capt. Trask voluntarily devoted a portion of his time to overseeing the repairs, without being requested to do so by his co-owners, although it was the business of Capt. B. W. Simpson, as the ship’s husband, to superintend the repairing of the vessel; and it is not shown that there was any necessity for the assistance alleged to have been rendered by Capt. Trask, nor that his services were of any value, nor that his bill has been paid, or payment thereof promised, by his co-owners.

The seventh assignment is for alleged error of the court in refusing to allow any sum for damages to the Portland’s cargo of lumber. • If, in fact, injury to the cargo resulted from the collision, compensation therefor should have been awarded. There is testimony that the value of part of the lumber was impaired by mud and sand.

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Bluebook (online)
54 F. 404, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 1456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/simpson-v-the-state-of-california-ca9-1893.