Whitney Steamship Company, as Owner of the M/v Sam Laud, Cross-Appellant v. United States of America, Cross-Appellee

I believe that reliance is the touchstone of this case, and that the decision of the trial court as affirmed by the majority opinion stretches the concept of reliance, and therefore the principles of causation, beyond reasonable and permissible limits. Therefore, I dissent.

That the plaintiff in this action must establish that there was reliance on the Buffalo Traffic Buoy in order to prove causation is not a matter in dispute. I diverge from the conclusions reached by the majority and by the lower court on two questions.

The first question concerns the reasonableness of reliance on a…