Multnomah County v. Hammond Lumber Co.

The steamship liureka, owned by appellee Hammond Lumber Company, was damaged at Portland, Or., in a collision with the east leaf of the “Burnside Bridge,” a drawbridge over the Willamette river, a navigable stream. The bridge is owned and operated by the appellant, Multnomah county, Or., a municipal corporation and body politic. It is of the bascule type operated electrically. There are 'two spans known as the east and west spans, and when both are open the clearance is 205 feet. Upon proper signal, properly answered, the bridge tender started to open the draw to allow the Eureka to pass. The west leaf opened promptly, but, because of some defect in the control mechanism, the east leaf could not be raised. The Eureka changed course in an attempt to go through the open span, but her mainmast and rigging failed to clear the east leaf and were injured by the resulting collision. The trial court held that the bridge tender was negligent in failing to signal the approaching vessel that he could not open the east draw, and awarded damages in the sum of $6,926.63 for the repair of the vessel, which, together with small sums for loss of the use of the vessel and for the payment of the…