Wilson v. Pacific Mail Steamship Co.

Twelve miles off the shore of California, 9:53 A. M., November 29, 1922, sky clear, sea smooth and uninterrupted, the Newport, an iron passenger steamer 337 feet long — 2,643 tons — drove her prow amidships into the port side of the Svea, a wooden lumber steam schooner of 618 tons and 170 feet long. Both vessels were seriously injured. The owner of the Svea libeled the Newport, her owners and master in the District Court, Southern District of California. They charged that the collision resulted from the sole fault of the Newport and her navigators and asked for fulldamages. A cross libel…