United Fruit Co. v. United States

134 Ct. Cl. 315
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMarch 6, 1956
DocketNo. 324-52
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 134 Ct. Cl. 315 (United Fruit Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United Fruit Co. v. United States, 134 Ct. Cl. 315 (cc 1956).

Opinion

Whitaker, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff sues defendant for compensation for the carriage of mails for the period June 26,1946 to December 9, 1946.

Plaintiff, a New Jersey corporation, time-chartered six vessels from Empresa Hondurena de Vapores, a Honduran company, which was a wholly-owned subsidiary of plaintiff. The vessels, of course, flew the flag of Honduras and were operated under the laws of that country.

During the period in question the vessels transported for defendant certain so-called convention mails and non-con[316]*316vention mails. Plaintiff has been paid for carrying the non-convention mails, but not for carrying the convention mails. These mails were carried from New Orleans and Cristobal, Canal Zone, to ports in Panama, Costa Pica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. All of these countries, as well as the United States of America, were parties to the Convention of the Postal Union of the Americas and Spain.

• Article 3 of this Convention, entered into in 1937 (50 Stat. 1657), reads as follows:

1. The gratuity of territorial, fluvial and maritime transit is absolute in the territory of the Postal Union of the Americas and Spain; consequently, the countries which form it obligate themselves to transport across their territories, and to convey by the ships of their registry or flag which they utilize for the transportation of their own correspondence, without any charge whatsoever to the contracting countries, all that which the latter send to any destination.
2. In cases of reforwarding, the contracting countries are bound to reforward the correspondence by the ways and means which they utilize for their own dispatches.

■ Such mails are called convention mails. Plaintiff sues for the carrying of them.

Similar suits have been before us heretofore, but each of them, and this action as well, differ in some respects. In United Fruit Co. v. United States, reported in 103 C. Cls. 303, 308, et seq., there was involved the carriage of mails by vessels flying the flag of Panama. Notwithstanding article 3 of the Convention quoted above, Panama denied liability for compensation for the carrying of them. We held that since the United States had required the carriage, and since Panama would not pay, the United States was liable. .

On the same day we decided Standard Fruit and Steamship Co. v. United States, also reported in 103 C. Cls. 659, 680, et seq. This suit involved the carriage of mails by vessels flying the flag of Honduras. Honduras did not deny liability to pay compensation therefor, and prior to their carriage the United States had disclaimed liability. Notwithstanding the non-acquiescence of plaintiff in this disclaimer, we held that there was no implied promise by the [317]*317United States to pay for them, and we gave judgment for the defendant. Honduras later paid plaintiff.

In United Fruit Co. v. United States, 112 C. Cls. 519, 528, et seq., there was also involved the carriage of mails by vessels flying the flag of Panama. Defendant defended on the ground that the United States had disclaimed liability before the mails were carried. It, however, appeared that plaintiff had vigorously protested this disclaimer of liability, and it did not appear that the United States had persisted in its disclaimer in the face of this protest. Under these circumstances, and because Panama denied liability, we held that a promise to pay must be implied, especially since it was not within the power of the plaintiff to refuse to carry the convention mails, since they were commingled with the non-convention mails, which plaintiff was under the duty to carry.

Now, in the case at bar there was also a disclaimer of liability by the United States, and continued protest by the plaintiff, without any resolution of the dispute at the time the mails here involved were carried. However, on August 30, 1954 the Ministry of Foreign Eelations of the Kepublic of Honduras advised the United States Minister to Honduras, in part, as follows:

* * * When your Ministry, through the National Merchant Marine Bureau, grants a navigation license and registry, the company or owner of the vessel is required “To waive any claim for transportation of mail delivered to it by the countries signatory to the Postal Union of the Americas and Spain,” whence it is concluded that the Government of Honduras grants licenses to vessels of the said companies or private persons on condition that they transport the aforesaid mail in exchange for exemption from beacon, wharfage, and tonnage charges, subsidies, etc. * * *

Later, on October 4, 1954, the president of Empresa Hon-durena de Vapores, the owner of the vessels transporting the mails, wrote the Postal Administrator of Puerto Cortes, Kepublic of Honduras, in part as follows:

As far as I know, the only provision in effect on the subject is that indicated in Article 114, subparagraph 3, of Legislative Decree No. 45 of 1943, cited in the verbal [318]*318note mentioned. In some contracts for the transportation of mail executed prior to the year 1943, between the Executive Power and steamship companies, the latter assumed the obligation of making the said transportation without any cost to the Government in exchange for the exemption from the payment of port charges, such as anchorage, clearance, lighthouse,. etc.; see the contract with The Pacific Steam Navigation Company and that with the Compania Naviera del Pacifico, “Grace Line,” both of the year 1937, published in Nos. 10226 and 10262 of the official daily “La Gaceta” of the said year.
In regard to vessels of Honduran registry referred to in the preamble of the aforementioned transcription, whether they navigate in national waters or in those of other countries, they are obligated to carry gratis the mail from Honduras and to Honduras, in accordance with subparagraph 5 of Article 114 of the Postal Law.

It would, therefore, appear that the [Republic of Honduras, which was liable for the payment for the carriage of the mails under article 3 of the Postal Convention, has paid for their carriage by exempting plaintiff’s vessels from beacon, wharfage and tonnage charges, and by subsidies, etc.

Plaintiff, having collected in this way from Honduras for the carriage of the mails, is not entitled to collect again from the United States. It is the Republic of Honduras that is primarly liable under the Postal Convention for the carriage of these mails, and it has paid for it in the way stated above.

The aforementioned correspondence was written after the period in question, but we assume it is a statement of the conditions on which the vessels were licensed originally.

Plaintiff also says the Republic of Honduras is liable to pay for the carriage of these mails only if that country utilized these vessels for the carriage of its own mails on the particular voyages when the United States utilized these vessels for the carriage of its mails. Article 3 of the Postal Convention is not so limited. Nor does Honduras undertake to so restrict its liability, as shown by the communication from its Ministry of Foreign Relations quoted from above. Neither does the owner of the vessels undertake to so restrict its liability, as shown by the extract from his letter set out above.

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Related

United Fruit Co. v. United States
168 F. Supp. 549 (Court of Claims, 1958)

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