Sears v. Wills
Sears v. Wills
Opinion of the Court
We think the evidence is quite conclusive that the cargo shipped to the defendant’s intestate was delivered, not only without any assertion of a lien for the freight, or reliance upon it, but under circumstances which indicate an intention to waive the lien. This has been expressly decided in the supreme court of the United States, in a suit in admiralty, in which the present plaintiffs and defendant were parties, and by the judgment in which they are bound, affirming a like decision in the district and circuit courts. Bags of Linseed, 1 Black, 108. Assuming it to be doubtful whether that judgment is technically a bar to the present suit, it is at least decisive upon the point that the plaintiffs had no maritime lien upon the cargo for freight at the time that libel was filed. And unless upon the ground of fraud, accident or mistake, we do not readily perceive any ground for giving relief in equity upon a lien that has been lost by waiver; that is, establishing an implied trust, where a direct right of property has been voluntarily relinquished.
But we need not consider the extent of the binding force of that judgment, because, to whatever extent it is open to revision, we are satisfied with its correctness. The property was delivered unconditionally, without any suggestion that it was intended to rely upon the lien. Much the larger part of it was transshipped on board another vessel, bound to a foreign market. Mr. Augustine Wills was then in good credit, and his estate at his decease was thought to be ample to meet his obligations. When payment of freight was first demanded, and refused on the ground that administration was not taken out, no suggestion of a resort to the lien was made, until the idea of a possible insolvency was entertained.
If the plaintiffs were relying upon a lien for the freight under
These authorities go to the extent that the owner of a ship has a right to retain goods shipped by third persons under bills of lading from the charterer, until the freight is paid, if the shippers had notice of the charter party, although by the bills of lading the freight would not be payable, or would be payable so as to release the lien. But they do not authorize the conclusion that specific agreements in the charter party, providing for something more than the general lien for freight given by the mercantile law, can be enforced against third persons either in law or in equity. The defendant was not a party to the charter. The right of the plaintiffs against him was either as assignees of the bill of lading, or it was merely the paramount right of a ship owner to retain the goods until the freight was paid, against a shipper not a party to the charter. It would seem that if the plaintiffs sought to exercise the latter, they should have retained the cargo until the freight was paid; or if they meant to preserve their lien as a matter of special contract, should have given the defendant distinct notice that it was understood the contract of the charter party would be enforced against him. On the contrary, the plaintiffs took an assignment of the bills of lading, and undertook to collect them. They had taken security for the payment of the freight secured by the charter party, above the amount specified in the bills of lading. They deli ered the whole cargo unconditionally, and without any mention or suggestion of a purpose to rely upon a lien. The intention to assert the lien seems to us to have been an after thought, first conceived when doubts were excited of the solvency of the estate of Augustine Wills. It had before this been waived, according to the understanding of both parties, and could not be revived
Judgment for the defendant.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.