The Germanic (Oceanic Steam Navigation Co. v. Aitken)
United States Supreme Court
196 U.S. 589, 25 S.Ct. 317, 49 L.Ed. 610 (1905)

- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
The Germanic was a cargo vessel that arrived behind schedule into New York, loaded with cargo and heavily coated with ice. In order to hasten the unloading of the cargo and the preparation of the ship for its next voyage, the ship’s master ordered cargo to be unloaded from all of her hatches at once and coal to be simultaneously loaded on both sides of the vessel. As the cargo was unloaded and coal loaded, the Germanic periodically rolled from a starboard list to a port list, as the balance of the vessel shifted. During this time, the ship’s master ordered some of the cargo to be shifted in the hold in an effort to better balance the vessel. After one such roll, an open coal port slipped below the water line, and the ship began to flood. The Germanic sank, losing cargo that remained onboard. Cargo owners and insurers (plaintiffs) sued Oceanic Steam Navigation Co. (Oceanic) (defendants) under the Harter Act to recover for their loses. The district court awarded damages to the cargo owners, finding that the loss was due to rushed and negligent unloading. The court of appeals affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Holmes, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 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.