Heissenbuttel v. Mayor of New York
District Court, S.D. New York
In Admiralty. On the fifth of July, 1883, the libelant’s boat, with a cargo of 268 tons of coal, was taken from Port Johnston to the landing in the Harlem river at the foot of One Hundred and Sixth street, where she was moored.
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In Admiralty. On the fifth of July, 1883, the libelant’s boat, with a cargo of 268 tons of coal, was taken from Port Johnston to the landing in the Harlem river at the foot of One Hundred and Sixth street, where she was moored. Not long after, in the rise and fall of the tides, she was broken in the middle, through the inequality of the bottom along-side the landing, in consequence of its having been dug out immediately in front of the landing some four or five feet deeper than immediately above or below, so as to render it unfit, for the time being, for the accommodation of vessels. This…
1Opinion of the CourtBrowk, J.
There is no dispute in regard to the general rule that the proprietors of wharves and slips are responsible for damages caused to vessels coming to them in the usual course of business, when the damage arises from defects of which the owners have notice or are chargeable with knowledge. When a wharf or slip becomes dangerous, the law imposes upon owners the duty of giving reasonable notice and warning of the danger, in order that the public, accustomed to resort to them, may not ho entrapped and injured. There is no difference, in principle, between repairs upon highways and upon wharves and…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Carleton v. Franconia Iron & Steel Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1868
- Railroad Company v. HanningSupreme Court of the United States · 1873
- Ireland v. . Oswego, Hannibal and Sterling Plank Road Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1856
3Cited by5 opinions
- Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. v. City of New YorkCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1943
- Constantine & Pickering S. S. Co. v. West India S. S. Co.District Court, S.D. New York · 1912
- Cornell Steamboat Co. v. GladstoneDistrict Court, S.D. New York · 1934
- Daly v. New York Dock Co.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1918
- Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. v. City of New YorkDistrict Court, S.D. New York · 1941