Moore-Mccormack Lines, Inc., a Delaware Corporation v. Louis Russak

In this diversity case, appellant in this Court amended, without objection, its Petition for Removal so as to allege the plaintiff’s citizenship, as well as residence, in the state of Washington.

Appellant as a public carrier owed the highest degree of care to appellee passenger for hire, injured by slipping on a foreign substance during a “dance fiesta” on the 25 x 35 foot ballroom floor of appellant’s ship, which was under way at the time of the accident.

Certain facts are undisputed: (1) that plaintiff was injured, sustaining a fractured bone of the foot; (2) that plaintiff slipped; (3) that after the slip there was “on the floor * * * right next to my foot * * * a little bit of moisture. It looked like a few grapes, skin of a grape * * * five or six inches” in size; (4) that no witness who testified had observed any grapes on the floor prior to the slip; (5) that between fifteen and twenty-five minutes before the slipping, another passenger, impersonating Carmen Miranda, carrying “a basket with all kinds of fruit * * * went on the floor there * * * giving some of the fruit to the passengers, throwing it. They were asking for it.” This woman passenger “was throwing grapes in…