The Erie Belle
The Erie Belle
Opinion of the Court
The Revised Statutes (section 566) enact that in causes of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction relating to any matter of contract or tort arising upon or concerning' any vessel of 20 tons burden or upwards, enrolled and licensed for the coasting trade, and at the time employed in the business of commerce and navigation between places in different states and territories upon the lakes and navigable waters connecting the lakes, the trial of issues of fact shall be by jury when either party requires it. The history of this anomaly in our admiralty jurisprudence is found in the caso of Gillet v. Pierce, 1 Brown, Adm. 553. In the case under consideration the vessel receiving the injury is within the description of the statute, but the offending vessel is not. The question is, upon which vessel can the cause or action be said to “arise or concern,” — the vessel receiving or the one doing the injury ? So far as I know, no attempt has been made to answer this question, except by Judge Conklikg, in a note in his
The motion to strike the demand for a jury from the answer must be denied.
Reference
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