Van Beuren & Sands v. Wilson
New York Supreme Court
jN error on certiorari, to the marine court of the city of J New-York. Van Beuren and Sands were sued below by Wilson, who declared in assumpsit for wages due him as a seaman on board the brig Charlotte, of which the defendants were owners; also for damages in discharging the plaintiff in a foreign port, against his will; also for work and labor done and performed, money paid, laid out and expended ; also for two months’ wages due the plaintiff by statute, for being…
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jN error on certiorari, to the marine court of the city of J New-York. Van Beuren and Sands were sued below by Wilson, who declared in assumpsit for wages due him as a seaman on board the brig Charlotte, of which the defendants were owners; also for damages in discharging the plaintiff in a foreign port, against his will; also for work and labor done and performed, money paid, laid out and expended ; also for two months’ wages due the plaintiff by statute, for being discharged in a foreign port, and the vessel being sold. The defendants below pleaded the general issue, and payment, and gave…
1Opinion of the Court
Curia, per Sutherland, J.
No general principle of commercial law is better settled, than that no Wages are allowed to seamen where no freight is earned; unless the- loss of the voyage and freight is to be imputed to the default of the master or owners. It- has accordingly grown into á legal maxim, that freight is the mother of wages. (Abbott on Ship. pt. 4, ch. 3, and cases there collected, 3 John. 154, 11 John. 279. Whetmore v. Henshaw, 12 John. 324.) In the- last case, this question is elaborately discussed by the Counsel and by the judge, who delivered the opinion of the court. See also 9…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Pangburn v. RamsayNew York Supreme Court · 1814
- Dunnett v. TomhagenNew York Supreme Court · 1808
- Porter v. AndrewsNew York Supreme Court · 1812
- Icard v. GooldNew York Supreme Court · 1814
- Wetmore v. HenshawNew York Supreme Court · 1815
3Cited by3 opinions
- Roebuck v. DupreySupreme Court of Alabama · 1841
- Moffat v. StrongsThe Superior Court of New York City · 1861
- Witty v. HightowerMississippi Supreme Court · 1849