Grosse Ile Bridge Company v. American Steamship Company

OPINION

GILMAN, Circuit Judge.

On September 6, 1992, the M/V H. Lee White, a 700 foot cargo freighter carrying 67 million pounds of iron ore, struck the Grosse lie Toll Bridge, a pivot-swinging drawbridge on the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River. The Grosse lie Bridge Company filed suit against the American Steamship Company, which owns the M/V White, seeking to recover damages to the bridge on the basis that the collision was caused by the M/V White’s negligence. Following a bench trial, the district court found that the M/V White bore no responsibility for the accident, and therefore…