Olson Towboat Company, Olson Steamship Co., the Tug Jean Nelson, the Barge Florence v. Joao Dutra

Appellee, a seaman, sued the boatov/ners for damages for the loss of a portion of the index finger on his right hand. He charged negligence in his first cause of action; unseaworthiness in his second. In a trial by the district court without a jury, the court found, by its “Amended Findings,” that respondents below (appellants here) had “negligently operated said vessels so as to allow the mooring cable to become defective,” and that said same condition of the mooring cable made the vessel unseaworthy and not a safe place to work. Damages of $3,500 were awarded. Appellants objected to the findings, and appeal here upon the ground (a) there was no showing of negligence or unseaworthiness; (b) no showing the appellants owned “the wire line and loop” appellee was casting off when the injury occurred; and (c) no showing of any defect in the wire loop; therefore the judgment rests on speculation.

We adopt the first portion of the statement of facts related by appellants in their brief:

Appellants urge that appellee himself saw nothing in the wire loop that caused his injury; did not see “the condition” of the wire loop; saw no defect (such as “snags” or “cut wires”) and “guessed”…