Arista Cia. DeVapores, S. A. v. Howard Terminal

This is an appeal from a judgment in admiralty entered in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. District court jurisdiction was based on 28 U.S.C. § 1333 . This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

A longshoreman filed a claim against the appellant, Arista Cia. DeVapores, for injuries suffered while working aboard appellant’s vessel, SS WORLD LEADER. The shipowner impleaded the longshoreman’s employer, Howard Terminal, seeking indemnity based upon alleged breach of the stevedore’s implied warranty of workmanlike service. In preparing its defense the shipowner incurred expenses and attorneys’ fees. When the case was called for trial the longshoreman moved for dismissal, which was granted. The parties then stipulated that: the longshoreman’s own negligence was the sole cause of his injury, the vessel was seaworthy, the shipowner was not negligent, and the amount of fees and expenses incurred by the shipowner were necessary and reasonable.

The shipowner’s impleaded claim for recovery of expenses and attorneys’ fees against the stevedore was dismissed. Arista Cia. DeVapores, S.A. v. Howard Terminal, 247 F.Supp. 710 (N.D.Cal., 1965). The…