Michael P. Maxwell v. Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft, Hamburg

The plaintiff-appellant, Michael Maxwell, was injured by a fall that allegedly occurred as a result of the wake from the ship of the defendant-appellee, Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellshaft. Maxwell contends that the trial judge should have given his requested jury instruction on presumed fault for damage caused by the wake of a moving vessel and should not have allowed as a cost under Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(d) expenses for photographic materials used by the defendant. We affirm on both issues.

I

At the time of the accident, Maxwell was in the hold of a 28-foot fiberglass fishing boat, unloading the previous night’s catch from the Columbia River. The boat was tied to a private moorage, Toteff’s Dock, near Kalama, Washington, on the Columbia River. Alerted by a noise, Maxwell came out of the hold, fell between the boat and the dock, and broke his leg. Maxwell contends that his fall was caused by an unusually large wake from the M/V Ludwig-shafen Express, headed upriver towards Portland. He alleges that the vessel was traveling at excessive speed and without a proper lookout, and failed to maintain proper control or give warning. Hapag-Lloyd responds that Maxwell’s injuries were caused by his…