Silver Line v. United States

This is an appeal from an order of the District Court entered in limitation of liability proceedings initiated by the Silver Line, Limited, owner and operator of the British motorship Silver Palm, which was in collision with the United States Cruiser Chicago off the California coast on October 24, 1933.

For the facts of the case we refer to our previous opinion in this case [ 79 F.(2d) 598 ], and to the opinion in the appeal affirming the decree denying limitation. (C. C. A.) 94 F. (2d) 776.

Upon the appellant’s filing a petition for limitation of liability, all independent suits against the Silver Line were stayed. Subsequently the injunction was modified to permit the administrators of three deceased naval officers killed in the collision to proceed for wrongful death in suits “in personam at law” or in admiralty, regardless of the pendency of limitation proceedings. This appeal is from that order.

At the previous argument of this appeal the United States urged that the law of Great Britain gave a right of full recovery free from limitation of liability to the administrators of seamen killed by the negligence of a vessel on the high seas. It argued that, such being the case,…