J. Ray McDermott & Co. v. Department of Highways

J. SKELLY WRIGHT, District Judge.

For eighteen years Raoul Savoie has been the bridge tender of the bridge at Bourg, Louisiana, over the old Intracoastal Waterway. On November 2, 1957, he made a mistake. He lowered the bridge on the extended boom of the barge Pile Driver No. 5 as it was passing through the draw in tow of the tug Captain Cootie. Libellant brings this suit for damage suffered by Pile Driver No. 5 against the Captain Cootie, her owners, and Raoul Savoie.1

At Bourg, the old Intracoastal Waterway, now called the Company Canal, runs north and south. Just south of the bridge at Bourg…