Grace & Co. (Pacific Coast), a Corporation v. City of Los Angeles, a Municipal Corporation

This is a diversity action brought in the District Court for the Southern District of California by Grace & Co., a West Virginia corporation, appellant, against the city of Los Angeles, a municipal corporation, appellee, for damages to certain bags of coffee owned by appellant which had been unloaded from a ship and were in a shed at Berth 59 in Los Angeles Harbor. The basis of appellant’s claim for damages is the alleged negligence of the city of Los Angeles.

The District Court had jurisdiction by virtue of 28 U.S.C.A. § 1332 , and this Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1291 . The action was tried to the Court without a jury.

The background of the case as disclosed by the evidence, the findings of the Court and the stipulation of the parties is set out below.

The city of Los Angeles, through its Harbor Department, operated a transit shed at Berth 59, Pier 1, Los Angeles Harbor. This pier extended southerly and seaward from 22nd Street about 2,-400 feet into the harbor waters. A steel and concrete transit shed on this pier was used for the receipt and shipment of goods to and from Los Angeles Harbor.

Running generally the length of Pier 1 and in the middle of it was…