Westinghouse Electric Corp. v. M/V Leslie Lykes
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
734 F.2d 199 (1984)
- Written by Daniel Clark, JD
Facts
Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Westinghouse) (plaintiff) engaged Lykes Brothers Steamship Company (Lykes) (defendant) to ship electric rotors aboard Lykes’s steamship S.S. Leslie Lykes (Leslie). The Leslie had a manhole cover designed to allow access to the hold in which the rotors were stored. However, bags of flour had been placed above the cover, blocking access to the hold. There was no evidence that the plan to store the flour above the cover had been made by Lykes’s managing officers or their agents. At some point during the Leslie’s voyage, a fire ignited in the hold in which the rotors were stored, damaging the rotors. Westinghouse brought suit against Lykes to recover the cost of the fire damage. Lykes claimed exemption from fire-damage liability under the Fire Statute, which was incorporated into the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA). The district court found that Lykes was not entitled to the defense provided by the Fire Statute because Lykes, by allowing the flour to block the manhole cover, had not used due diligence to ensure that the Leslie was seaworthy at the outset of its voyage. Lykes appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Brown, J.)
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