Greene v. Vantage Steamship Corp.
Greene v. Vantage Steamship Corp.
Opinion of the Court
Robert Greene, a longshoreman employed by the United States at the Naval Supply Center, Norfolk, Virginia, was fatally injured when a hatch board on the SS RACHEL V gave way, causing him to fall to the deck below. The decedent’s wife, as administratrix of his estate, instituted this action against Vantage Steamship Corporation (Vantage), owner of the RACHEL V, claiming that Vantage had breached its duty to provide a seaworthy vessel. Vantage then filed a third party action against the stevedore, the United States, alleging that it had breached its implied warranty of workmanlike performance. The district court directed a verdict in favor of the plaintiff on the issue of unseaworthiness and submitted only the question of damages to the jury. It returned a verdict of $100,000. In the third party action, the district court, sitting without a jury, held that the United States had not breached its implied warranty and gave judgment against Vantage. Vantage appeals from the final orders in both causes of action.
I
On March 19, 1971, Vantage contracted to charter the RACHEL V to the Military Sealift Command.
The No. 1 hold of the RACHEL V consists of an upper ’tween deck, a lower ’tween deck, and a lower hold. The ’tween deck hatch squares contained the standard type of hatch boards laid over hatch beams. The hatch beams run athwartship and the hatch boards fit between the beams, resting on a three to four inch lip of the beam. The district court did not make a specific finding with reference to the number of hatch beams, noting only that it “appears there were five or six hatch beams and six or seven rows of hatch boards.”
The decedent and his co-worker, Avery, descended to the upper ’tween deck to remove the hatch boards. As was their custom, the men began removing the hatch boards from the middle part of the hatch. Greene walked to the middle of the row, picked up a hatch board, turned to carry it to the edge or erowl of the ship, when the board on which he was standing gave way causing him to fall to the lower ’tween deck. As the result of his fall, Greene suffered severe injuries from which he died thirty-six hours later.
II
In plaintiff’s case against Vantage, the district court directed a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, holding that as a matter of law, the RACHEL V was unseaworthy. The district court also directed a verdict for the plaintiff on the issue of the decedent’s contributory negligence. Vantage contends that there was insufficient evidence to take either of these two questions from the jury. We disagree.
A ship owner has an absolute duty to provide a “vessel and appurtenances reasonably fit for their intended use.” Mitchell v. Trawler Racer, 362 U.S. 539, 550, 80 S.Ct. 926, 933, 4 L.Ed.2d 941 (1960). Vantage’s duty in this case was therefore to supply hatch boards which would support a man in the process of opening up a hold.
Whether an issue of alleged unseaworthiness should be submitted to a jury depends on whether “fair minded men, viewing all the facts and the inferences to be drawn from the facts can differ over whether the ship and its gear are reasonably fit for service . ” Lundy v. Isthmian Lines, Inc., 423 F.2d 913, 915 (4 Cir. 1970). Here, plaintiff established that the hatch boards in the area where the decedent was working appeared to be in proper order, that there were no visible defects, and that the hatch board on which the decedent was standing slipped off the hatch beams causing him to fall to the lower ’tween deck. Since this evidence was uncontradicted, we agree with the district court that fair minded men viewing the facts and the logical inferences to be drawn from them could only conclude that the vessel was unseaworthy.
Vantage contends, however, that before a case can be taken from the jury, it is necessary for the plaintiff to show how or why the board upended, i. e., that it was too short or that the hatch beam was bowed, etc. Vantage misconstrues the plaintiff’s burden of proof on the question of unseaworthiness. In
Nothing more need be shown except that the device in question failed under conditions when it should have functioned properly. On the issue of the ship’s unseaworthiness it is of no moment to speculate as to why the hook and wedge, fittings intended to keep the sliding door open, failed to function.
Where an appliance or piece of equipment breaks or fails in the normal course of use, a plaintiff need not show why the failure occurred, but only that it did occur with the resulting injury. See Oliveras v. American Export Isbrandtsen Lines, Inc., supra; Gibbs v. Kiesel, 382 F.2d 917 (5 Cir. 1967); Vega v. The Malula, 291 F.2d 415 (5 Cir. 1961); see also Petterson v. Alaska S.S. Co., 205 F.2d 478 (9 Cir.) aff’d 347 U.S. 396, 74 S.Ct. 601, 98 L.Ed. 798 (1954); Satchell v. Svenska Ostasiatiska Kompaniet, 385 F.2d 76 (4 Cir. 1967).
Nor is there merit in Vantage’s argument that the issue of contributory negligence should have been permitted to go to the jury. “The admiralty rule is that the defense of contributory negligence must be affirmatively pleaded and proved by the defendant.” W. E. Hedger Transp. Corp. v. United Fruit Co., 198 F.2d 376, 379 (2 Cir.) cert. denied 344 U.S. 896, 73 S.Ct. 275, 97 L.Ed. 692 (1952). Vantage offered no evidence to show that the decedent knew or should have known that the hatch boards were unsafe.
III
Vantage seeks to set aside the jury’s award of $100,000 on the ground that the district court erred in instructing the jury on the issue of damages. The district court instructed the jury that they could award damages for the plaintiff’s pecuniary loss, her grief and mental anguish, the decedent’s pain and suffering prior to his death, and funeral expenses. Vantage contends that damages for a wrongful death in general maritime law are limited to pecuniary loss.
In Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., 398 U.S. 375, 90 S.Ct. 1772, 26 L. Ed.2d 339 (1970), the Supreme Court overruled The Harrisburg, 119 U.S. 199, 7 S.Ct. 140, 30 L.Ed. 358 (1886) and held that general maritime law affords a cause of action for wrongful death.
The basis for Vantage’s argument that damages for this new cause of action are limited to pecuniary loss is the principle that general maritime law be uniform. In 1920, Congress passed the Death on the High Seas Act, 46 U.S.C.A. § 761 et seq. [hereinafter DOHSA], which provided a cause of action for wrongful death occurring on the high seas. Damages under the DOHSA are limited to pecuniary loss. Since this new Moragne cause of action is most analogous to the existing DOHSA, Vantage argues that the doctrine of uniformity requires that we adopt the same measure of damages for wrongful death under general maritime law as is presently provided by DOHSA.
Vantage’s position is not without support. In Petition of United States Steel Corporation, 436 F.2d 1256 (6 Cir. 1970), cert. denied Lamp v. United States Steel Corp., 402 U.S. 987, 91 S.Ct. 1649, 29 L.Ed.2d 153, reh. denied Fuhrman v. United States Steel Corp., 403 U.S. 924, 91 S.Ct. 2227, 29 L.Ed.2d 703 (1971), the court reversed a district court award for a wrongful death occurring on territorial waters which included damages for loss of consortium, loss of love, and loss of companionship and guidance to the adult emancipated children, elements of loss, all of which were compensable under the Michigan Wrongful Death Act. The court held that since those items of damages conflicted with those provided under the general maritime law, the state law must give way to the federal. It should be noted, however, that the court did not specifically state what was the measure of damages under general maritime law. Similarly, in Simpson v. Knutsen, 444 F.2d 523, 524, 525 (9 Cir. 1971), the court held that the “District Court did not err in refusing to award damages for loss of consortium . . .,” but again there was no discussion of what constituted the proper measure of damages. Presumably, both the sixth and ninth circuits felt that the proper measure was that embodied in DOHSA.
In contrast to these decisions, the court, in Dennis v. Central Gulf Steam
The doctrine of uniformity, as a constitutional doctrine, is inapplicable to the issue of damages under Moragne.
The approach of the court in Moragne, in concluding that general maritime law affords a cause of action for wrongful death, should be used to determine the proper measure of damages. In holding that general maritime law provides recovery for wrongful death, the Court was influenced by the fact that every jurisdiction had enacted a wrongful death statute. The significance of that fact was that wrongful death had become part of the common law:
These numerous and broadly applicable statutes, taken as a whole, make it clear that there is no present public policy against allowing recovery for wrongful death .... This legislative establishment of policy carries significance beyond the particular scope of each of the statutes involved. The policy thus established has become itself a part of our law, to be given its appropriate weight not only in matters of statutory construction but also in those of decisional law.
. It has always been the duty of the common law court to perceive the impact of major legislative innovations and to interweave the new legislative policies with the inherited body of common-law principles — many of them deriving from earlier legislative exertions.
Damages for the decedent’s pain and suffering are not ordinarily awarded in wrongful death actions. Only nine statutes permit recovery for the decedent’s pain and suffering, but two of these are federal, the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.A. §§ 51-59, and the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.A. § 688.
Maritime law permits recovery for pain and suffering. Dennis v. Central Gulf Steamship Corp., supra, 453 F.2d at 140; Downie v. United States Lines Co., 359 F.2d 344, 347 (3 Cir.) cert. denied 385 U.S. 897, 87 S.Ct. 201, 17 L. Ed.2d 130 (1966); Heredia v. Davies, 12 F.2d 500, 501 (4 Cir. 1926). Traditionally, however, recovery has been denied where the seaman dies of his injuries. Cortes v. Baltimore Insular Line, 287 U.S. 367, 371, 53 S.Ct. 173, 77 L.Ed. 368 (1932) (dictum). The basis for this rule is the now outmoded felony merger doctrine,
In the great majority of states, a plaintiff could join with his Moragne action, an action under the state survival statute and in that way recover for the decedent’s pain and suffering.
Finally, we do not believe that the Moragne decision was intended to narrow the relief available for wrongful death. Dennis v. Central Gulf Steamship, supra, 453 F.2d at 140. Yet, this would be the result if recovery were limited to pecuniary loss since under the state statutes used prior to Moragne, recovery was usually broader than provided by DOHSA. We believe that it is more consistent with the spirit of admiralty law to permit recovery for pain and suffering than to deny it. “ ‘ [C] ertainly it better becomes the humane and liberal character of proceedings in admiralty to give than to withhold the remedy, when not required to withhold it by established inflexible rules.’ ” Moragne v. State Marine Lines, Inc., supra, 398 U.S. at 387, 90 S.Ct. at 1781, 26 L.Ed. 2d 339, quoting from the Sea Gull, 21 F.Cas.P. 909 (No. 12,578) (CC Md. 1865). We hold therefore that in a wrongful death action under general maritime law, recovery may be had for decedent’s pain and suffering.
We also hold funeral expenses are a proper element of recovery. Although none of the federal statutes permit such a recovery, the majority of states do. Perhaps more significant is the fact that prior to the Harrisburg, recovery of funeral expenses was permitted under general admiralty law. See Keene v. The David Reeves, 12 F.Cas.P. 386 (No. 6,625) (D.Md. 1879). “The overruling of The Harrisburg revives those cases as guides for decision here.” Dennis v. Central Gulf Steamship Corp., 323 F. Supp. 943, 950 (E.D.La. 1971) aff’d 453 F.2d 137 (1972). In many instances funeral expenses represent out-of-pocket expenses to the beneficiaries of the wrongful death action and hence, in a broad sense, these expenses may be viewed as pecuniary losses.
The strongest argument in favor of denying these items of recovery, and limiting recovery to pecuniary loss, is the existence of DOHSA. This act is most analogous to the cause of action created by the Moragne decision. In Moragne, the United States, appearing as an amicus curiae, argued that the new cause of action should follow DOHSA. “It is the congressional enactment that deals specifically and exclusively with actions for wrongful death . . . There is no occasion ... to borrow from the law of the relevant coastal State, since the underlying duties to be effectuated are entirely federal and Congress has expressed its preference.” Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., supra, 398 U.S. at 407, 90 S.Ct. at 1791.
While this argument is not without force, we find it unpersuasive in light of the legislative history of DOHSA.
In contrast to recovery for pain and suffering and funeral expenses, only a small number of jurisdictions permit a beneficiary in a wrongful death action to recover for grief and mental anguish. None of the federal statutes permit such a recovery and it is permitted in only a small number of states. “Wrongful Death Damages,” supra, 44 N.C.L.Rev. at 411.
IV
In the third party action, the district court held that the stevedore, the United States, had not breached its warranty of workmanlike performance. Vantage challenges that decision on sew* eral grounds. First, Vantage argues that the district court erroneously applied the “cursory inspection” standard instead of the “reasonable inspection” standard. Second, Vantage contends that the stevedore rendered a substandard performance since it failed to make a more detailed inspection of the No. 1 upper ’tween deck after observing that some of the hatch boards in the forward end were missing and in disarray. As a counterpart to that argument, the ship owner contends that the stevedore was required to make a more detailed inspection because of the knowledge it had obtained in the joint survey that four hatch boards were broken, one beam was bowed, and two beams had their underside flanges toed up. Finally, Vantage cites as error the district court’s failure to consider whether the stevedore breached its implied warranty by failing to comply with longshoring regulation 29 C.F.R. § 1504.1. We will consider these arguments seriatim.
Where a party contracts to provide stevedoring services, he impliedly warrants, even if he has not done so expressly, that those services will be performed properly and safely. Ryan Stevedoring Co. v. Pan-Atlantic SS. Corp., 350 U.S. 124, 133, 76 S.Ct. 232, 100 L.Ed. 133 (1956). This warranty of workmanlike performance is the essence of a stevedoring contract. Id. A vessel may be rendered unseaworthy by a stevedore’s breach of his warranty; and in such a case, the ship owner may recover indemnity from the stevedore. Even if the vessel is unseaworthy in the first instance, the ship owner may recover from the stevedore if the stevedore “brought the unseaworthiness of the vessel into play.” Crumady v. “Joachim Hendrik Fisser,” 358 U.S. 423, 429, 79 S.Ct. 445, 448, 3 L.Ed.2d 413 (1959). The stevedore’s warranty also includes the use of equipment incidental to the handling of cargo. Weyerhaeuser Steamship Co. v. Nacirema Operating Company, 355 U.S. 563, 567, 78 S.Ct. 438, 2 L.Ed.2d 491 (1958). Should a substandard performance by the stevedore with this equipment lead to foreseeable liability, the ship owner may recover indemnity. Id.
Vantage contends that had the stevedore made a proper inspection of the upper ’tween deck before sending its men down to remove the hatch boards, it would have discovered the defect which resulted in the accident. Vantage challenges the district court’s finding that a proper inspection was made on the ground that the district court’s finding was based on the use of an improper test, i. e., that the stevedore is required only to make a “cursory inspection.” It is Vantage’s position that the proper standard is a “reasonable inspection.”
Upon removing the hatch cover, the stevedore observed that the hatch boards in the forward end of the upper ’tween deck were in disarray — some were missing and some were too short. Relying on the testimony of its expert witness, Rykbos, Vantage argues that the stevedore was required to make a more detailed inspection because of the hazardous condition existing in the forward end of the deck. Rykbos testified that the condition in the forward end of the upper ’tween deck might have indicated a bowed beam. A bowed beam may appear straight when the hatch boards are on since the boards exert a pressure to straighten the beam; but, if so, the removal of a hatch board on one side may cause the beam to spring back to its bowed position. Rykbos explained that if a beam was bowed forward and one of the hatch boards was removed, the beam could return to its bowed position, and would widen the space between it and the beam to the aft, causing the hatch boards to slip between the two beams.
The district court rejected Rykbos’ explanation of the accident, and we believe properly so. Assuming, as did Rykbos, that the beam immediately forward of where Greene fell was bowed forward, the removal of a board to the aft of that beam would not cause it to spring back to a forward bowed position. A beam bowed forward is kept straight by the hatch boards on its forward side. Only the removal of a board to the forward of such a beam would permit it to return to a forward bowed position. And, assuming that the beam was bowed to the aft, the removal of a hatch board by the decedent would have caused the beam to bow to the aft which would have narrowed, not widened, the space between it and the beam to the aft. Because Vantage failed to explain how the condition in the forward end of the upper ’tween deck affected the aft end, or how a more thorough inspection would have uncovered the defect respon
Nor do we see any merit in Vantage’s argument that the stevedore was required to make a more thorough inspection because of the knowledge acquired through the joint survey conducted in New Jersey.
Finally, Vantage argues that the stevedore breached its warranty by failing to comply with the applicable long-shoring regulations. 29 C.F.R. § 1504.1 prohibits longshoremen from working in those sections of the hatch containing “missing, broken, split, or poorly fitting hatch covers, or in adjacent sections.” Vantage contends that there were only six rows of hatch boards, that rows four and five from the aft end were in disarray, and that the decedent was working on the third row from the aft end when he fell. This would have put him on the row immediately adjacent to one of the rows which was in disarray, thus violating the regulation.
A violation of a longshoring regulation may render a vessel unseaworthy “and if such unseaworthiness was the proximate cause of the . injury, it would . . . render the defendant shipowner liable.” Provenza v. American Export Lines, Inc., 324 F.2d 660, 665 (4 Cir. 1963) cert. denied 376 U.S. 956, 84 S.Ct. 970, 11 L.Ed.2d 971 (1964); Venable v. A/S Det Forenede Dampskibsselskab, 399 F.2d 347, 353 (4 Cir. 1968). However, if the stevedore is responsible for the violation of the regulation, the ship owner is entitled to indemnity from the stevedore. Frasca v. S/S SAFINS E. ISMAIL, supra; Provenza v. American Export Lines, Inc., supra.
The district court made no specific findings as to the number of rows of hatch boards; nor did it make any finding as to which rows were in disarray. Our reading of the record indicates that there were probably six rows of hatch boards and the fourth and fifth rows from the aft (or the second and third rows from the forward) end were probably the ones in disarray. If we are correct, then when the decedent was working on the third row of hatch boards, he was immediately adjacent to one of the rows which was in disarray in violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1504.31; and if the violation of this regulation by the stevedore was the proximate cause of the accident, the ship owner is entitled to indemnity from the stevedore.
The judgment of the district court is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part; and remanded.
. The Military Sealift Command (MSC) provides shipping services for the Department of Defense. When a ship is chartered by MSC, that agency informs the Army’s Military Terminals Management Transportation Service (MTMTS) of the availability of ship space. MTMTS then informs the Department of Defense of the space available.
. The purpose of the survey was to record the condition of the vessel to insure that it would be returned in the same condition as received. Copies of the survey are not ordinarily distributed to other government agencies.
. In an early case, Hamburg-American Steam Packet Co. v. Baker, 185 F. 70 (4 Cir. 1911), this circuit recognized the necessity of providing safe hatch covers:
It is well known that in order to handle the hatch covers the men must go upon the hatch, and therefore they must be made safe to bear that weight and to hold their position under that strain, and if they are not and that is a permanent condition of the hatch of the ship, it is the fault of the ship.
Id. at 72. See also Samad v. The Etivebank, 134 F.Supp. 530 (E.D.Va. 1955).
. Vantage presented an expert witness who testified that if the board slipped between two hatch beams, there must have been some visible space between the board and the flange of the hatch beam, indicating an unsafe condition. This evidence, however, was submitted only in reference to the indemnity action.
. Prior to Moragne, an action for wrongful death occurring within territorial waters could be brought pursuant to state wrongful death statutes. Western Fuel Co. v. Garcia, 257 U.S. 233, 42 S.Ct. 89, 66 L.Ed. 210 (1921). Where an action was brought pursuant to a state statute, it was first necessary to determine whether that statute included the substantive maritime principles of negligence and unseaworthiness. If it did, then a plaintiff could recover according to the same general maritime principles which applied to non-fatal maritime injuries and to deaths occurring on the high seas. See Mitchell
The difficulty with this approach to wrongful deaths occurring on territorial waters was clear. First, since most state courts had not interpreted their wrongful death statues in the context of substantive maritime law, the federal courts were often left to “divine” how the state court would interpret its wrongful death statute. The Tungus v. Skovgaard, supra, 358 U.S. at 600, 79 S.Ct. 503 (Brennan, J. concurring in part and dissenting in pax’t). Furthermore, the basis of liability differed according to the state in which the death occurred. Finally, in those states in which the wrongful death statutes did not encompass substantive maritime principles, the duty owed by the ship owner varied depending on whether the injury was fatal or non-fatal. Id. at 611, 79 S.Ct. 503. It was within this framework that the Court decided Moragne: “Our recognition of a right to recover for wrongful death under general maritime law will assure uniform vindication of federal policies, removing the tensions and discrepancies that have resulted from the necessity to accommodate state remedial statutes to exclusively maritime substantive concepts.” Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., supra, 398 U.S. at 401, 90 S.Ct. at 1788.
. See note 5 supra.
. This is not to suggest, however, that uniformity as a matter of public policy, might not dictate that the measure of damages for this new cause of action follows those provided in analogous statutory actions.
. While noting that the doctrine had been the object of considerable criticism and numerous exceptions, the Court, nonetheless, reaffirmed it in Kossick v. United Fruit Co., 365 U.S. 731, 738-739, 81 S.Ct. 886, 6 L.Ed.2d 56 (1961). Prior to Moragne, the most notable exception to the rule was that which permitted “state wrongful death statutes . . . and state survival of action statutes to grant and to preserve a cause of action based ultimately on a wrong committed within the admiralty jurisdiction and defined by admiralty law . . . ” Id. at 739, 81 S.Ct. at 892.
. Additionally, recovery can be had for a decedent’s pain and suffering under the National Parks Act, 16 U.S.C.A. § 457 and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C.A. §§ 1331-1343, both of which adopt the state statutes applicable to the particular area in which the federal reservation is located. Clearly, there is no federal policy against awarding damages for pain and' suffering.
. See Prosser, Law of Torts § 120 (3rd ed. 1964).
. There is substantial authority that a plaintiff may join a cause of action under a state survival statute with a cause of action under the DOHSA. E. g. Dugas v. National Aircraft, 438 F.2d 1386 (3 Cir. 1971) ; United States v. S.S. Washington, 172 F.Supp. 905 (E.D.Va.) aff’d sub. nom. United States v. Texas Co., 272 F. 2d 711 (4 Cir. 1959). In this way a plaintiff can recover for his pecuniary loss vis-a-vis the DOHSA and for the decedent’s pain and suffering under the state survival statute. Presumably if a person can join a state survival action with a cause of action under the DOHSA, he can also join that state action with the new Moragne action.
. For example, Virginia does not provide for recovery of the decedent’s pain and suffering. See Breeding, Adm’r v. Johnson, 208 Va. 652, 159 S.E.2d 836 (1968).
. See S.Rep.No.216, 66th Cong., 1st Sess. 3 (1920) ; H.R.Rep.No.674, 66th Cong., 1st Sess. 3 (1920) ; 59 Cong.Rec. 4482-4486.
. Virginia is one of the jurisdictions which permits recovery for grief and mental anguish. Anderson v. Hygeia Hotel Co., 92 Va. 687, 24 S.E. 269 (1896).
. The cases uniformly hold that a stevedore is not responsible for latent defects. Victory Carriers, Inc. v. Stockton Stevedoring Co., 388 F.2d 955, 959 (9 Cir. 1958) ; D/S OVE SKOU v. Hebert, 365 F.2d 341, 348 (5 Cir. 1966) ; Ray v. Compania Naviera Continental, S.A., 203 F.Supp. 206, 211 (D.Md. 1962) ; see also Frasca v. S/S SAFINA E. ISMAIL, 413 F.2d 259, 261 (4 Cir. 1969).
. A space between the hatch board and the flange of the beam might indicate that the board was too short and thus capable of falling between the hatch beams.
. “Accidents do happen that simply cannot occur. * * * Ships still collide, although at the moment of impact, each is going full astern through the water.” D/S OVE SICOU v. Hebert, supra, 365 F.2d at 346 (Brown, J.).
. For the purpose of this opinion, we will assume that the stevedore had knowledge, or should have had knowledge, of the contents of the joint survey.
. It should be noted that Vantage’s factual contention, if accepted, would place decedent “immediately adjacent” to one of the rows in disarray. The regulation requires only that a longshoreman not work in those sections of the hatch “adjacent” to a row in disarray. We do not now decide that only disarranged hatch boards “immediately adjacent,” i. e., contiguous or touching, constitute a violation of the regulation. What constitutes an “adjacent section” is a matter for determination by the district court in the first instance on the facts of a particular case.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mrs. Geraldine W. GREENE, Administratrix of the Estate of Robert Greene v. VANTAGE STEAMSHIP CORPORATION, Appellant VANTAGE STEAMSHIP CORPORATION v. United States
- Cited By
- 28 cases
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- Published