Armand Schmoll, Inc. v. Commonwealth & Dominion Line, Ltd.

Plaintiff sues, as a consignee of certain green, salted hides, defendant shipping line for damages occurring to the cargo carried on defendant’s ship, the Port Hardy, from Townsville, Australia, to Antwerp, Belgium.

The hides were sent forward August 19, 1925, and arrived at Antwerp on February 5, 1926, nearly six months after shipment. The approximate normal time for this transit by sea is four months.

The defense to the suit is that a strike was in progress at Bowen, Australia, a port of call and loading, for nearly two and one-half months, and that this strike caused the delay of the vessel.…