B. Allocation of Damages in Admiralty

• Library: South Carolina Damages (SCBar) (2009 Ed.)

B. Allocation of Damages in Admiralty

1. Vessel Solely at Fault

When one vessel collides with another or with a land-based object and the vessel is solely at fault, the vessel bears its own loss and must respond to losses sustained by the other.²⁷

2. Proportionate Fault: Proportionate Damages

When a vessel hits another vessel or a land-based structure due to the fault of each, liability for the damages caused is allocated among the parties in proportion to their relative fault.²⁸ The Supreme Court in Reliable Transfer²⁹ rejected the old Admiralty rule of divided damages in mutual fault cases and held that damages must be allocated proportionally among the parties according to the degree of fault. Liability for damages when both parties are at fault is allocated equally only when it is not possible to measure the comparative degrees of fault.³⁰ Allocation of fault has been held to be a question of fact and thus is reversible only when the trial court's finding is "clearly erroneous."³¹

3. Proportionate Damages in Cases Involving Third Parties

An innocent third party whose property is injured as a result of a collision between two vessels has long been allowed to sue both vessels and collect from one the full damages that the other cannot pay, or else collect the difference if the other is able to pay only a part.³² A third party at fault in contributing to property loss is liable for its proportionate share of the total damages under the...