United States v. Sabine Towing & Transportation Co.

CASSIBRY, District Judge:

At 8:20 P.M. on August 13, 1959, a three barge flotilla, some 600 feet long, loaded with gasoline and under the control of defendant Sabine’s Tug AJAX collided with and heavily damaged the southwest fender and approach system of plaintiff’s Paris Road Bridge while proceeding eastward in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Negotiations looking toward settlement took place between plaintiff’s Army Corps of Engineers and defendant Sabine during the 1959-1963 period but the matter was not referred to the Department of Justice for litigation until January 11, 1967. After…