Willard v. Dorr
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts
This was a libel. brought by the adminis-tratrix of the master of the ship Jenny, owned by the respondent, John Dorr, for wages earned by the master in a voyage originally undertaken from Boston to China, and back again to Boston, and also for wages earned by his apprentice during the same voyage. The voyage commenced in May, 1807, and was carried on until December, 1808, when the ship was captured as prize by a British cruiser, and carried into Calcutta for adjudication.
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This was a libel. brought by the adminis-tratrix of the master of the ship Jenny, owned by the respondent, John Dorr, for wages earned by the master in a voyage originally undertaken from Boston to China, and back again to Boston, and also for wages earned by his apprentice during the same voyage. The voyage commenced in May, 1807, and was carried on until December, 1808, when the ship was captured as prize by a British cruiser, and carried into Calcutta for adjudication. Upon trial there, the ship and cargo were condemned, and an appeal was taken to the lords commissioners in England. Upon…
1Opinion of the Court
STORY, Circuit Justice.
So far as the objection to the present suit rests on the ground of the incompetency of the court to retain the jurisdiction, because it is a suit for the master’s wages, I am of opinion, that it cannot be sustained. If this were a suit in rem against the ship for payment of the master’s wages, the objection would be fatal; for it has been settled at the common law, that the master has no lien upon the ship for his wages; and the jurisdiction of the admiralty in rem can be supported, only where a lien exists, which it may lawfully enforce. Such a lien is admitted to…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Commonwealth v. LeachMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1804
- Stevens v. TownsendMichigan Supreme Court · 1843
- Brown v. JonesU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts · 1815
3Cited by12 opinions
- Pacific Coast S. S. Co. v. Bancroft-Whitney Co.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1899
- Grant v. PoillonSupreme Court of the United States · 1858
- Nolte v. Hudson Nav. Co.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1924
- Chandler v. The Willamette ValleyDistrict Court, N.D. California · 1896
- Bancroft—Whitney Co. v. Pacific Coast Steamship Co.District Court, N.D. California · 1894
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