§ 21.5 Damages for Injury to Land-based Structure

LibraryDamages (OSBar) (2016 Ed.)
§ 21.5 DAMAGES FOR INJURY TO LAND-BASED STRUCTURE

§ 21.5-1 General Principles

When a vessel strikes a bridge, wharf, dolphin, buoy, or other land-based structure, there is a presumption that the vessel is at fault. This is known as the Oregon rule. See The Oregon, 158 US 186, 192, 197, 15 S Ct 804, 39 L Ed 943 (1895); see also Patterson Terminals, Inc. v. S.S. Johannes Frans, 209 F Supp 705 (ED Pa 1962). The moving vessel must show that it was without fault, or that the collision was occasioned by the fault of the stationary object or was the result of an inevitable accident. Carr v. Hermosa Amusement Corp., 137 F2d 983, 985 (9th Cir 1943).

The Admiralty Jurisdiction Extension Act provides that admiralty jurisdiction "extends to and includes cases of injury or damage, to person or property, caused by a vessel on navigable waters, even though the injury or damage is done or consummated on land." 46 USC § 30101(a). The owner of a stationary land-based object is entitled to recover repair costs, less any betterment or depreciation as a result of adding new...

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