Snyder v. Home Ins.

SNYDER v. HOME INS. CO.

Snyder v. Home Ins., 133 F. 848 (S.D.N.Y. 1904)

Court: District Court, S.D. New York · Federal District Courts
Decided: November 10, 1904
Judges: Holt
Citations: 133 F. 8481904 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87

Cited by 8

Headnotes

1. Marine Insurance — Watchman—'Warranties—Breach. Where a marine policy on a canal boat contained a provision that it was “warranted by the insured that the said vessel * * * shall at all times have a competent watchman on board,” and she sunk at a dock, during the absence of the master and crew, without any person in charge, insurer was not liable.

Summary

In Admiralty. Action upon insurance policy to recover damages caused by the sinking of a steam canal boat while lying at a dock in Jersey City on the night of June 10, 1903, during the absence of the master and crew. Several persons visited the boat at intervals to see that she was in safety, but between the times of their visits she filled and sunk. The policy contained the following provision: “Warranted by the insured that the said vessel * * * shall at all times have a competent watchman on board.”

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion of the Court — Holt

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HOLT, District Judge.

I think that the admitted breach of the warranty that the canal boat should at all times have a competent watchman on board bars a recovery. The cases of Lewis v. Ætna Ins. Co. (D. C.) 123 Fed. 157 , and Lewis v. Barber Asphalt Co., Id. 161 , do not seem to me to hold to the contrary. In those cases there was a warranty of seaworthiness. The owners had provided a competent master and crew, but the master was not on board. The court held that the warranty was not broken. In this case there was an express warranty that the boat should at all times have a competent watchman on board. The proof does not establish what caused the vessel to sink, but there were various intimations on the trial that it was due to the malicious acts of certain men, hostile to the boat, engaged in a labor strike. There is no proof that this was the cause of the accident, but, if that was the cause, the absence of the watchman undoubtedly gave opportunity for the acts which caused the boat to sink. In any case a breach of an express warranty in a policy of insurance bars a recovery, whether it caused any injury or not. Arnould on Marine Insurance (7th Ed.) vol. 2, § 632, and cases cited.

The libel is therefore dismissed.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

Cited by 8 cases

View all citing references →

Relies on it most ⓘ

Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance348 U.S. 310 (1955)
Shamrock Towing Co. v. American Ins. Co.9 F.2d 57 (2d Cir. 1925)
Jarvis Towing & Transportation Corp. v. Aetna Insurance82 N.E.2d 577 (N.Y. 1948)
Levine v. Aetna Ins.139 F.2d 217 (2d Cir. 1943)
Whealton Packing Co. v. Ætna Ins.185 F. 108 (4th Cir. 1911)
Ciconett v. Home Ins.80 F. Supp. 429 (W.D. Ky. 1948)

Most recent

Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance348 U.S. 310 (1955)
Ideal Cement Co. v. Home Ins.112 F. Supp. 413 (S.D. Ala. 1953)
Jarvis Towing & Transportation Corp. v. Aetna Insurance82 N.E.2d 577 (N.Y. 1948)
Ciconett v. Home Ins.80 F. Supp. 429 (W.D. Ky. 1948)
Levine v. Aetna Ins.139 F.2d 217 (2d Cir. 1943)
Houston Oil & Transport Co. v. Ætna Ins.36 F.2d 69 (S.D. Tex. 1929)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 1

Depth	Case	Cited by
	Lewis v. Ætna Ins., 123 F. 157 (S.D.N.Y. 1903)	1

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