Flores

This action was instituted by longshoreman Arthur Flores (hereinafter called Flores) against ship’s owner Thor-Dahl A/S (hereinafter called Thor-Dahl) for damages for personal injuries suffered when, in the course of his employment by Crescent Wharf & Warehouse Company (hereinafter called Crescent), Flores was engaged in unloading the vessel Thorsisle. Thor-Dahl filed a cross-complaint for indemnity against Crescent and the jury returned a verdict of $78,850 in favor of Flores but denied indemnity to ThorDahl; judgment was entered accordingly. Because the accident was sustained by a longshoreman aboard a seagoing vessel, this action is controlled by federal maritime law in both its substantive and its procedural aspects. (Vittone v. American President Lines, 228 Cal.App.2d 689, 693 [ 39 Cal. Rptr. 758 ] ; Kermarec v. Compagnie Generate Transatlantique, 358 U.S. 625 [ 3 L.Ed.2d 550 . 79 S.Ct. 406 ]; Pope & Talbot, Inc. v. Hawn, 346 U.S. 406, 409 [ 98 L.Ed. 143 , 74 S.Ct. 202 ].)

Appellant Thor-Dahl contends that the jury was improperly instructed concerning the nature and extent of Crescent’s duty as a stevedore company under contract to unload Thorsisle with respect to its…