In re Hellenic Lines, Ltd.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
730 F.2d 159, 1984 AMC 2713 (1984)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
The Hellenic Carrier, a vessel owned by Hellenic Lines, Ltd. (plaintiff) collided with the Lash Atlantico, owned by Prudential Lines, Ltd. (defendant) off the coast of North Carolina in international waters. Hellenic Lines sued Prudential Lines in federal district court. The court held that the Last Atlantico was 80 percent responsible for the accident because its radar was inoperable and because it failed to reduce its speed as it neared the other ship. The court held that the Hellenic Carrier was 20 percent responsible for the collision because it also failed to reduce its speed. Prudential Lines appealed, alleging that the Hellenic Carrier had made turns to port during the approach to the collision in violation of safe-navigation regulations. Prudential Lines claimed that the court had failed to properly consider these violations in apportioning fault between the parties by holding that the regulation against committing a port turn should be construed as advisory rather than mandatory.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Chapman, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 796,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.