Bill v. Smith
Supreme Court of Connecticut
Trespass on the case for an injury to a dredging machine of the plaintiff caused by the negligence of the defendants; brought to the Superior Court in New London County, and tried on the general issue closed to the court.
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Trespass on the case for an injury to a dredging machine of the plaintiff caused by the negligence of the defendants; brought to the Superior Court in New London County, and tried on the general issue closed to the court. The court reserved tbe case for tbe advice of this court upon tbe following finding of tbe facts by the judge: About eleven o’clock in the forenoon of tbe 18th of October, 1868, the defendants’ propeller ran into a mud-digger or dredging machine belonging to the plaintiff. On the afternoon preceding the accident the mud-digger was properly seemed by means of spuds on the…
1Opinion of the CourtCarpenter, J.
The facts of this case are few and simple. The principles of law involved are familiar and well settled. The only difficulty arises in their application. In admiralty the rule is that when a vessel in motion comes into collision with one that is at anchor, the presumption is that the former is in fault; and she can only exonerate herself by showing that it was the fault of the vessel at anchor, or the result of circumstances utterly out of her power to control. 1 Parsons Mar. Law, 201, and cases there cited. Both parties substantially concede this to be the rule. The same rule prevails in the…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Beers v. Housatonuc Rail-roadSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1849
- Williams v. Town of ClintonSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1859
3Cited by4 opinions
- Dean v. HershowitzSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1935
- Martin v. LotzSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1940
- Guibert v. The George BellDistrict Court, D. Maryland · 1879
- Martin v. LotzConnecticut Superior Court · 1939