United States v. Los Angeles Soap Co.

An original libel and two amended libels were brought by the Los Angeles Soap Company, one of the appellees, to recover for shortage and contamination of a consignment of cocoanut oil shipped, in September, 1927, in the deep tanks of the steamship West Cajoot, owned by the appellant, from Manila to Los Angeles.

The appellant filed two libels to recover general average contribution alleged to have been due from the appellees, as a result of expenditures following the stranding of the West Cajoot off the coast of Japan.

Since most of the testimony was by deposition, the case, as the appellant itself points out, is before this court de novo, “both in theory and in fact.”

On September 23, 1927, the West Cajoot left Manila with 1,223,583 pounds of cocoanut oil consigned to the appellee soap company. In the early morning of October 2, 1927, the vessel struck some obstruction in Van Diemen Straits, off the Japanese coast. Her engines were immediately put astern, and the ship floated a few minutes later. The West Cajoot’s course was then altered for Kobe, Japan, where the vessel arrived on the evening of October 3, 1927. Repairs to the vessel were made on dry dock.

On October 5 it was…