Vittone

Plaintiff, a longshoreman, was injured while engaged in discharging cargo from aboard the SS President Johnson, a vessel owned and operated by defendant American President Lines. He was employed by the Associated-Banning Company, a stevedoring corporation, an independent contractor performing the unloading operations for defendant. Plaintiff brought an action sounding in negligence and unseaworthiness of vessel under the general maritime law and a jury found in his favor and awarded $50,000 damages against defendant American President Lines for personal injuries suffered by plaintiff. Defendant appeals from the judgment and the appeal involves only the unseaworthiness cause of action and asserted errors of the trial court in giving and refusing instructions pertaining to that issue.

The evidence adduced at the trial was substantially without conflict and a brief summary of it, viewed from the point of view of the prevailing party, follows.

The alleged unseaworthiness of vessel is related to the lack of dunnage between the layers of large steel pipe, their cantline stowage, the pipe being stowed metal to metal, upper tiers resting in the valleys of the lower tiers, and the…