Wellman v. Toyo Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha

CHESNUT, District Judge.

These three admiralty cases involve very similar questions of law and fact, and, at the request of counsel for all the parties, have been tried together. In each case claim is made for damages to cargo shipments of fish meal from ports in Japan to Baltimore due to heating of the meal during the voyage. In each case the damaged meal was stowed in one of the lower holds of the ships, while similar shipments on the same ships carried in the upper or between-decks holds, arrived at destination without material damage. The basis of the libelant’s claim is that the ships in…