City of Long Beach v. National Development Co.

The National Development Company, appellee herein, is a Philippine corporation and the owner of the Philippine motorship Dona Aurora. It filed a libel in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division, against the City of Long Beach, a municipal corporation, J. A. Jacobsen & Co., Inc., a corporation, and Sigurd A. Ougland, appellants herein, for damages sustained by the Dona Aurora by reason of her collision on August 29, 1955, with the outer breakwater at the entrance of *587 Long Beach Harbor, California. Subsequent to the filing of the libel, certain insurers of cargo were, by the order of the district court, admitted to prosecute the cause as co-libellants. Sigurd A. Ougland was a municipal port pilot for the City of Long Beach and was the agent and servant of J. A. Jacobsen & Co., Inc., and the City of Long Beach. At the time of the collision he was acting within the scope and course of his duties. Following a trial before the court, the district judge found that Ougland was careless and negligent in navigating the Dona Aurora; that through his negligence the ship collided with the breakwater; and that there was no fault on the part…