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Keywords

damageslitigationnegligenceliabilityregulation

liabilityappealtrialwill

Related Cases

Petition of Kinsman Transit Co., 338 F.2d 708, 1964 A.M.C. 2503

Facts

The litigation arose from a series of incidents on January 21, 1959, when the United States Weather Bureau issued warnings about dangerous conditions in the Buffalo River due to ice jams. The MacGilvray Shiras, owned by Kinsman Transit Company, was moored improperly and broke loose due to ice pressure, colliding with the Michael K. Tewksbury, which was also moored. The collision caused significant damage, including the destruction of the Michigan Avenue Bridge, and injuries to the bridge crew.

The Buffalo River flows through Buffalo from east to west, with many turns and bends, until it empties into Lake Erie. Its navigable western portion is lined with docks, grain elevators, and industrial installations; during the winter, lake vessels tie up there pending resumption of navigation on the Great Lakes, without power and with only a shipkeeper aboard.

Issue

The main legal issues were whether the City of Buffalo was at fault for failing to raise the bridge in a timely manner and how liability should be apportioned among the parties involved.

We have here six appeals, 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(3), from an interlocutory decree in admiralty adjudicating liability.

Rule

The court applied principles of negligence and the last clear chance doctrine, determining that multiple parties could share liability for the damages caused by the collision.

The trial judge reasonably found that if the anchors had dropped at that time, the Shiras would probably have fetched up at the hairpin bend just below the Concrete Elevator, and that in any case they would considerably have slowed her progress, the significance of which will shortly appear.

Analysis

The court found that the City of Buffalo was negligent for not raising the bridge promptly upon learning of the drifting vessels, as required by federal regulations. However, it also held that the negligence of the Shiras and the Tewksbury contributed to the disaster, and thus, liability should be shared among all parties involved.

The City was not faulted for the manner in which it had constructed and maintained flood improvements on the river and on Cazenovia Creek, or for failing to dynamite the ice jams.

Conclusion

The court modified and affirmed the lower court's decision, holding that damages should be divided among the City of Buffalo, Kinsman Transit Company, and Continental Grain Company.

Judge Burke concluded that Continental and the Shiras had committed various faults discussed below; that the faults of the Shiras were without the privity or knowledge of her owner, thus entitling Kinsman to limit its liability.

Who won?

The court's decision to modify and affirm the lower court's ruling indicates a division of liability rather than a clear prevailing party, as multiple parties were found liable.

The complaints as to the judge's determinations are so numerous that, in order to deal properly with the most serious ones and avoid inordinate length, we must state our conclusions on the others in rather summary fashion.

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