Stella Reyes, Administratrix of the Estate of Florentino Reyes, Deceased v. Vantage Steamship Co., Inc.

I respectfully dissent from the majority’s reversal of the district court decision. First, although I agree with the majority’s finding of negligence per se based on the shipowner’s failure to provide line throwing devices, the majority incorrectly builds on this conclusion with a further finding that the shipowner’s negligence, as a matter of law, was a legal cause of the decedent’s death. Second, the majority incorrectly finds that the defendant’s sale of beer on board its ship made the ship unseaworthy or, alternatively, was clear negligence on the defendant’s part.

In stating the…