The Tug R. A. Turrentine, Her Engines, Etc. Brown & Root, Inc. v. American Home Assurance Company

279 F.2d 811
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJuly 15, 1960
Docket18016
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 279 F.2d 811 (The Tug R. A. Turrentine, Her Engines, Etc. Brown & Root, Inc. v. American Home Assurance Company) 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 Tug R. A. Turrentine, Her Engines, Etc. Brown & Root, Inc. v. American Home Assurance Company, 279 F.2d 811 (5th Cir. 1960).

Opinions

JONES, Circuit Judge.

A cargo of drilling mud was lost while being transported on the Barge ITC 6 between Brownsville and Corpus Christi, Texas. The shipment was under a memorandum bill of lading issued by Magco Towing Company, here called Magco, showing Magnet Cove Barium Corporation, referred to hereafter as Magnet, as both shipper and consignee. The drilling mud was, it appears, owned by Magcobar, Inc., herein designated as Magcobar. Magnet was sales agent for Magcobar. Magco, Magnet, and Magcobar are affiliated companies. The barge was under bareboat charter from its owners to Magco. An arrangement had been made by Magco with Brown & Root, Inc. for the towing of the barge empty [813]*813from Corpus Christi to Brownsville, and of the barge loaded from Brownsville to Corpus Christi for agreed amounts which had varied from time to time. The loading and unloading were done by Magco. On the occasion of the incident giving rise to this litigation the Tug R. A. Turrentine, of Brown & Root, took the loaded barge at Brownsville and was pushing it up the Intracoastal Canal to Corpus Christi. After the tug and barge had reached Corpus Christi Bay one of the cables between the tug and the barge broke. The master of the tug then reversed the positions of the two vessels and placed the tug in front of the barge. While an attempt was being made to get the tug and tow under way, the barge listed and about two-thirds of the cargo went overboard and was lost.

Insurance on the cargo had been undertaken by American Home Assurance Company on behalf 'of Magnet and Magcobar. The insurance company paid Magnet and Magcobar on a loan receipt. The insurer, taking a position as subrogee of its insureds, brought suit by libel against the Tug R. A. Turrentine and Brown & Root, Inc., as its owner, seeking recovery for the value of the lost cargo and asserted both unseaworthiness and negligence. Brown & Root, by a petition under Admiralty Rule 56, 28 U.S. C.A. impleaded Magco and its two affiliates. Liability of the tug was denied and a claim was asserted against Magco and its affiliates for the agreed amount of the tug hire. The district court found that the tug was negligent in several respects and its negligence caused the listing of the barge and the loss of the cargo. The defenses, hereafter discussed, of the tug and its owner were rejected and its claim for tug hire was denied. A decree was entered for the recovery by the insurance company from the tug and its ownér, Brown & Root, Inc., of the value of the lost cargo. An appeal from that decree is before us.

The first of the three questions raised and argued on behalf of the tug is that Section 3 of the Harter Act1 required a decree that the tug and its owner had no liability for the cargo loss. In support of this contention reliance is placed, primarily, upon the rule stated by the Supreme Court in Sacramento Navigation Co. v. Salz, 273 U.S. 326, 47 S.Ct. 368, 369, 71 L.Ed. 663. In that case the tow and the barge were held and operated by the owner of both, which undertook by its bill of lading to transport the goods of a shipper “on board of” the barge. This, the court held, was a transportation by the barge and the tug as the instrumentality for carrying out the undertaking for carriage, and the contract was one of affreightment rather than of towage. In the case before us there was no agreement that the tug or its owners would transport the cargo of the barge. Its obligation was to tow the barge from Corpus Christi to Brownsville empty and from Brownsville to Corpus Christi with a cargo. Such was the factual situation in Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co. v. T. L. James & Co., Inc., 5 Cir., 1957, 244 F.2d 263, certiorari denied 355 U.S. 871, 78 S.Ct. 121, 2 L.Ed.2d 76; motion for leave to file petition for rehearing denied 358 U.S. 901, 79 S.Ct. 218, 3 L.Ed.2d 152. In the opinion of this Court the Sacramento Navigation Co. case was discussed and its doctrine distinguished from the case, such as we have here, where the contract for the tug was for towage rather than affreightment. The full statement in the Mississippi Valley Barge Line case of the principle applicable here relieves us of the necessity of any further discussion of the question. See Robinson on Admiral[814]*814ty 673 et seq.; Commerce Oil Corporation v. Dixie Carriers, 5 Gir., 1958, 252 F.2d 386.

The second point raised on behalf of the tug and its owner is that they should, by reason of bill of lading provisions, have been given the benefit of cargo insurance. The memorandum bill of lading which was issued by Magco to Magnet had a clause providing that:

“It is mutually agreed * * * that every service to be performed hereunder shall be subject to all the terms and conditions of the uniform domestic straight bill of lading set forth (1) in official Southern, Western and Illinois freight classifications in effect on the date hereof, if this is a rail or rail-water shipment, or (2) in the applicable motor carrier classification or tariff if this is a motor carrier shipment.”

Introduced in evidence and relied upon by the owner of the tug as evidencing an applicable contract is a copy of a domestic straight bill of lading as set forth in official Southern, Western and Illinois classifications. In this exhibit it is provided :

“Any carrier or party liable on account of loss of or damage to any of said property shall have the full benefit of any insurance that may have been effected upon or on account of said property, so far as this shall not avoid the policies or contracts of insurance; Provided that the carrier shall reimburse the claimant for the premium paid thereon.”

Since the transportation and towage which gave rise to this litigation was neither a shipment by rail, rail-water, nor motor carrier, it is difficult to see how the bill of lading called “official” could have been incorporated into the memorandum bill of lading when the stated condition of incorporation was not met. Even if it can be said that the memorandum incorporates the right of a carrier to benefit from insurance, it must also be said that the terms of the insurance contract have deprived the carrier of any such right. The insurance policy contains these provisions:

“Warranted free of any claim in respect of goods shipped under a Bill of Lading or contract of carriage stipulating that the carrier or other bailee shall have the benefit of any insurance on such goods, but this warranty shall apply only to claims for which the carrier or other bailee is liable under the Bill of Lading or contract of carriage.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
279 F.2d 811, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-tug-r-a-turrentine-her-engines-etc-brown-root-inc-v-american-ca5-1960.