Adrian Guerrero v. American-Hawaiian Steamship Company

Adrian Guerrero was injured on a ship while serving as a seaman employed by American-Hawaiian' Steamship Company. He brought suit in the United States District Court under § 33 of the Merchant Seamen’s Act of June 5, 1920, amending § 20 of the Seamen’s Act of March 4, 1915, for compensatory damages against his employer. The defendant answered by admitting the employment and an injury, but denied the extent of the injury and denied that it was the cause of the injury. Defendant alleged affirmatively that plaintiff caused his own injury and that he had executed a valid and final general release to it.

The case was heard and submitted to the jury and after due consideration it reported that an agreement could not be reached; whereupon the court dismissed the jury. Thereafter the judge requested counsel to file briefs upon the question of validity of the written release which had been alleged by defendant, and which had been introduced into evidence in the course of the trial. Accordingly, briefs were filed and at a subsequent session of the court, without a jury, the judge strongly intimated, in fact decided, that he had determined that the release was valid and suggested that…