States S. S. Co. v. Rothschild International Stevedoring Co.

205 F.2d 253, 1953 A.M.C. 1399, 1953 U.S. App. LEXIS 3907
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJune 15, 1953
Docket13382
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 205 F.2d 253 (States S. S. Co. v. Rothschild International Stevedoring Co.) 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
States S. S. Co. v. Rothschild International Stevedoring Co., 205 F.2d 253, 1953 A.M.C. 1399, 1953 U.S. App. LEXIS 3907 (9th Cir. 1953).

Opinions

DENMAN, Chief Judge.

This is an appeal from a decree in admiralty of the United States■ District Court for the Western District of Washington, Northern Division. The question presented is whether a shipowner, who has space chartered its ship to a third party, may be indemnified for liabilities arising by reason of the active negligence of a stevedoring company hired by the third party, causing the vessel to be unseaworthy.

The shipowner brought this action in admiralty in the court below, alleging that it was the owner of the merchant vessel Arizona ; that the vessel had been space chartered to the United States Army; that the Army had reserved the right to select the civilian stevedores who would be employed in loading and unloading the vessel; that the Army had chosen Rothschild International Stevedoring Company (hereafter stevedore company) to stevedore the Arizona at the time in question; that Weibling, an employee of the stevedore company, had been injured by the handle of a winch and had subsequently died; that the shipowner had been sued by Weibling’s widow and had settled the claim by the payment to her •of the sum of $22,000.00 because of its non-delegable duty to provide a safe place on the ship for longshoremen to work; and that the stevedore company’s active negligence had been the proximate cause of Weibling’s injuries. The prayer was for recovery by way of full indemnity of the amount paid to Weibling’s widow plus costs and attorney’s fees. The court below dismissed the action upon the authority of Halcyon Lines v. Haenn Ship Corp., 342 U.S. 282, 283, 72 S.Ct. 277, 96 L.Ed. 318.

The Halcyon case held that there was no contribution between joint tortfeasors in non-collision admiralty cases. Appellant contends that it is not seeking contribution [255]*255but rather full indemnity, over, and that the Halcyon case has no application to indemnity cases. This contention appears correct. It is true, as pointed out by appel-lee, that the Supreme Court in granting certiorari referred to United States v. Rothschild International Stevedoring Company, 9 Cir., 183 F.2d 181, an indemnity case, as being in conflict with American Mutual Insurance Co. v. Matthews, 2 Cir., 182 F.2d 322, a contribution case. 342 U.S. 282, 284, fn. 3, 72 S.Ct. 277, 96 L.Ed. 318. However, the opinion of the Supreme Court speaks only of contribution as between joint tortfeasors. Here we do not have joint tortfeasors, but rather one party who is alleged to be solely at fault and another party who is alleged to be liable without fault as a result of the other’s acts. In American Insurance Co. v. Matthews, 2 Cir., 182 F.2d 322, at page 324, the shipowner joined in the wrongdoing in supplying a defective appliance to the employing stevedore. Its holding is that an owner so acting cannot recover. The Court’s reasoning clearly warrants the inference that if the shipowner had been free of wrongdoing, the quasi contractual obligation not to cause liability in the shipowner would exist.

Furthermore, the Halcyon and the instant case are distinguishable upon their facts. Halcyon was an attempt by a shipowner to bring a ship repair company in as a third party defendant in an action by an employee of the latter against the former on the ground that the ship repair company’s negligence had contributed to the injuries of its employee. Here, the libelant (appellant) alleged that it was not at fault, that it was liable only because of its non-delegable duty to furnish a stevedore a seaworthy ship and a safe place in which to work under the doctrine of Seas Shipping Co. v. Sieracki, 328 U.S. 85, 66 S.Ct. 872, 90 L.Ed. 1099, a species of absolute liability regardless of fault.

Where there is an express contract to indemnify between the owner and a stevedoring company, American Stevedores v. Porello, 330 U.S. 446, 67 S.Ct. 847, 91 L.Ed. 1011, United States v. Arrow Steve-doring Co., 9 Cir., 175 F.2d 329, certiorari denied 338 U.S. 904, 70 S.Ct. 307, 94 L.Ed. 557, or where the stevedoring company is hired by the owner of the ship, Read v. United States, 3 Cir., 201 F.2d 758; United States v. Rothschild International Steve-doring Co., 9 Cir., 183 F.2d 181; Rich v. United States, 2 Cir., 177 F.2d 688; Seaboard Stevedoring Corp. v. Sagadahoc S. S. Co., 9 Cir., 32 F.2d 886; Lukasiewicz v. Moore-McCormack Lines, D.C.E.D.N.Y., 104 F.Supp. 572, the owner has been allowed to indemnify itself against the steve-doring company. No case has been found where, as here, the stevedoring company was hired by a non-demise charterer.

The absolute duty of a shipowner to provide a safe place for longshoremen to work may be likened to the absolute duty of a landowner to keep his premises in such condition that passers-by are not injured. When this duty is violated, the owner is liable to anyone injured whether he is at fault or not. See Prosser on Torts, pp. 602-605, and cases cited. Where the breach of this duty is caused by the acts of some third person, in which acts the owner is not a party, the owner may demand indemnity from the wrongdoer. Gray v. Boston Gas Light Co., 114 Mass. 149, 154. Similar, too, is the duty of a municipal corporation to maintain its streets in a safe condition. Where the city grants to some third person the right to excavate the streets and that person negligently causes an unsafe condition to exist, the city is primarily liable for its failure to carefully inspect its streets, but may recover over from the third person if it was not itself actively negligent in creating the unsafe condition. Washington Gas Light Company v. District of Columbia, 161 U.S. 316, 16 S.Ct. 564, 40 L.Ed. 712; Lowell v. Boston & Lowell R. Co., 23 Pick. (Mass.) 24; Astoria v. Astoria & Columbia R. Co., 67 Or. 538, 136 P. 645, 49 L.R.A.,N.S., 404.

Here, the shipowner and operator gave permission to a stevedore company to be named by the charterer of the vessel’s cargo space to go on the owner’s premises to earn his charterer’s profits. A person [256]*256so permitted to occupy the owner’s ship’s' premises owes to the owne'r the duty to refrain from negligent acts which foreseeably would impose a liability on the owner and has an obligation to the owner not in pari delicto in such negligence to indemnify him for the amount he is required to pay because of such acts. See Gray v. Boston Gas Light Co., 114 Mass. 149, 154, where the court said:

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Bluebook (online)
205 F.2d 253, 1953 A.M.C. 1399, 1953 U.S. App. LEXIS 3907, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/states-s-s-co-v-rothschild-international-stevedoring-co-ca9-1953.