Boston Metals Co. v. the Winding Gulf et al. (349 U.S. 122)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 16, 1955 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 349 U.S. 122 · 75 S. Ct. 649
- Docket
- No. 70
- Argued
- March 1, 1955
- Decided
- May 16, 1955
- Term
- October Term 1954
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority author
- Justice Black
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Warren, Justice Black (wrote), Justice Douglas (wrote a concurrence), Justice Clark, Justice Minton
- Concurring in the judgment
- Justice Frankfurter (wrote)
- Dissenting
- Justice Burton (wrote), Justice Reed
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Black delivered the opinion of the Court. The petitioner, Boston Metals Company, brought this suit in admiralty against the steam vessel Winding Gulf and her owners to recover for loss of its obsolete destroyer which sank after colliding with the Winding Gulf. The collision occurred while the destroyer was being towed by the tug Peter Moran; the destroyer itself was without power or crew. The owners of the Winding Gulf filed a cross-libel against petitioner, charging that the collision was due to unseaworthiness of the destroyer. After hearings, the District Court found that the collision was due to negligent navigation by the Winding Gulf, to inadequate lights on the destroyer and absence of a crew on the destroyer to keep its lights brightly burning. This absence of lights and crew the District Court found was the fault of the master of the tug Peter Moran. The tug master’s negligence, however, was imputed to the petitioner because of provisions in the towage contract that the master and crew of the tug would become the servants of the petitioner and that the towing company would not be responsible for their negligent towage. On this basis, the District Court entered a decree in favor of the cross-libellant against petitioner which resulted in dividing the damages equally between petitioner and respondents. 72 F. Supp. 50. The Court of Appeals affirmed on the…
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