The Ripon City

102 F. 176, 42 C.C.A. 247, 1900 U.S. App. LEXIS 4531
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedMay 15, 1900
DocketNo. 868
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 102 F. 176 (The Ripon City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The Ripon City, 102 F. 176, 42 C.C.A. 247, 1900 U.S. App. LEXIS 4531 (5th Cir. 1900).

Opinion

After stating the case as above, the opinion of the court was delivered by

PARDEE, Circuit Judge.

’ The clause of the charter pariy which is the basis of this suit so far relates to the rendition of maritime services that it may he called a maritime contract, and, as to its enforcement, held to be within the jurisdiction of the admiralty; but whether, to recover damages for the breach of the contract, the libelant can proceed in rem, and cause [180]*180the seizure of the ship, is another question. To warrant the seizure of the ship as the thing indebted, the libelant must have a lien on the ship to the extent of his damages. It is clear that he has no express lien. The charter party expressly contracts for and preserves a lien on the freight for the difference in amount of freight as shown by the bills of lading and the freight agreed upon in the charter party, a lien on the ship and freight for inland charges and ship’s disbursements, and a lien in favor of the ship for the freight on the cargo and goods laden on board, but gives no other liens; wholly omitting the usual provision where a general lien is given to carry out the provisions of the charter party, to wit: “To the true and faithful performance of all and every of the foregoing agreements we, the said parties, do hereby bind ourselves, our heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, and also said vessel, freight, tackle, and appurtenances, and the merchandise to be laden on board, each to the other, in the penal sum of estimated amount of freight.” Expressio unius est exclusio al-terius. It follows that, if the present libelant has a lien, it must be because allowed and provided under general admiralty and maritime law. “Admiralty and maritime liens are stricti juris, and are not given by implication.” Vandewater v. Mills, 19 How. 89, 15 L. Ed. 554

Mr. Justice Curtis gives the rule applied in the United States courts as follows:

“For I understand it to be a settled rule that privileged liens constituting a jus in re, accompanying the property into the hands of bona fide purchasers, and operating to the prejudice of general creditors, are matters stricti juris, which cannot be extended from one case to another argumentatively, or by aRalogy or inference. They must be given by the law itself, and the case must be found described in the law. Privilegia, cum sunt stricti juris, nec ex-tendi possunt de re ad rem, nee de persona ad personam. 1 Boulay Paty, Cours de Droit Com. et Mar. p. 86; Emerigon, Contrat a la Grosse, c. 12, § 1. Even when the court may be of opinion that the law might be beneficially extended to include cases not described in its terms, it must be left to the legislative power so- to extend it. This is even expressed by Pardessus (3 Droit, Com. pp. 597, 598), when reasoning on the policy of allowing a privilege for premiums of insurance. ‘Analogy cannot afford a decisive argument, because privileges are of strict right. They are an exception to the rule by which all creditors have equal rights in the property of their debtor, and an exception should be declared and described in express words. We cannot arrive at it by reasoning from one case to another.’ ” The Kiersage, 2 Curt. 421, 424, Fed. Cas. No. 7,762.

It is settled with substantial unanimity that unexecuted maritime contracts carry no lien. See, as to affreightment, The Freeman v. Buckingham, 18 How. 188, 15 L. Ed. 341, and Vandewater v. Mills, supra; towage, The Prince Leopold (C. C.) 9 Fed. 333; furnishing supplies, The Cabarga, 3 Blatchf. 75, Fed. Cas. No. 2,276; wages, 1 W. Rob. Adm. 89.

In some instances, where services are rendered or supplies are furnished, no lien follows; for, by the maritime law, the master has no lien on the ship even for wages, nor the ship’s husband any lien. See The Orleans v. Phoebus, 11 Pet. 184, 9 L. Ed. 677; Norton v. Switzer, 93 U. S. 365, 23 L. Ed. 903; The Larch, 2 Curt. 428, Fed. Cas. No. 8,085; The Shortcut (D. C.) 6 Fed. 631; The Daniel Kaine (D. C.) 35 Fed. 787; The Nebraska, 21 C. C. A. 448, 75 Fed. 599.

[181]*181Conceding that the libelant in this case had a valid contract with the ship to employ his services in and about the affairs of the ship in case of general average, and that the master intentionally violated the contract, and refused to employ libelant, to his damage, still it seems clear, on general principles, that no lien on the ship result ed.

It is, however, contended that as the contract to employ libelant’s services was one of the provisions of a charter party, contracting for the affreightment of the ship, which contract of affreightment was. executed by the delivery and acceptance of cargo duly loaded, and the ship begun her voyage under said contract, a lien resulted; and reliance is had upon the well-settled proposition that after cargo1 is delivered the ship is hound to the cargo, and the cargo is hound to the ship, for the full performance of the contract. The libelant was not the owner, nor shipper, nor consignee of the cargo of the Itipon City. His sole interest, alter the Itipon 'City was loaded and started on her way. was to he employed as the ship’s agent in the matter of general average resulting from the fire which broke out on board. His employment or nonemployment in no way affected tlie ship’s liability to the cargo. If employed, it was to be for the ship, and, it may he presumed, if he had been employed his services would have benefited the ship; bul it can hardly be pretended that his employment to represent the ship in general average could or would have been in the interest of the cargo, if, for no other reason, because in general average the interests of the ship and those of the cargo are adverse. That the ship is bound to the cargo, and the cargo hound to the ship, for the fulfillment of the contract of affreightment, is in all maritime codes, and we may examine text-hooks and adjudged cases to see how the principle has been applied, controlled, and limited.

Conkling, in his trea Lise on Admiralty, says:

“It may be safely said, therefore, it is presumed that in this country the •rale declaring the liability of the ship to the merchandise, and of the merchandise to the ship, is practically, as well as theoretically, true. As it is hern hitm-preied and applied, it imports that the freighter has a lien on the ship and freight for the safe conveyance and delivery of Ms goods according to the contract under which they are shipped; that the owners, upon the fulfillment of their engagement, have a lien on the goods for their freight; and that these liens may be enforced by admiralty process In rem.” Volume 1, p. 16ti.

In The Maggie Hammond, 9 Wall. 435, 19 L. Ed. 772, the supreme court of the United States said:

“Undoubtedly the owner of the cargo has a lien, by the maritime law, upon the ship for the safe custody, duo transport, and right delivery of the same, as much as the shipowner has upon the cargo for the freight, as expressed in the maxim, ‘Le batel est oblige it la marchandise et la marchandise an batel.’ Subject to tbe exception that the lion of the shipowner may be displaced by an unconditional delivery of the goods before the consignee is required to pay the freight, or by an inconsistent and irreconcilable provision in the chartin’ party or bill of lading, the rule is universal, as understood in the decisions of the federal courts, that 1he ship is bound to the merchandise, and. the merchandise to the ship, for the performance on the part of the shipper and shipowner of their respective contracts.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Fabricant v. Roebuck
202 F.R.D. 310 (S.D. Florida, 2001)
Thyssen Inc v. M/V Med Pisa
Fifth Circuit, 1999
DC Andrews & Company v. United States
124 F. Supp. 362 (Court of Claims, 1954)
The Strathnairn
190 F. 673 (W.D. Washington, 1911)
Richard v. Holman
123 F. 734 (D. Maryland, 1903)
The Thomas P. Sheldon
113 F. 779 (D. Rhode Island, 1902)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
102 F. 176, 42 C.C.A. 247, 1900 U.S. App. LEXIS 4531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-ripon-city-ca5-1900.