Kermarec v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique

Background

On November 24, 1948, Joseph Kermarec boarded the S. S. Oregon in New York to visit a crew member and deliver a package. He had a pass authorizing the visit but did not see the pass’s written disclaimer. As he left hours later he fell descending a stairway and was injured. He sued in federal court claiming the ship was unseaworthy and that the crew was negligent. The district judge applied New York law, labeled Kermarec a gratuitous licensee, and told the jury that any slightest contributory negligence barred recovery. The jury found for Kermarec, but the judge later set aside the verdict for lack of proof that the owner knew of the dangerous condition. A divided Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Supreme Court granted review.

Reasoning

The Court decided that maritime law, not state common law, governs injuries that occur aboard ships on navigable waters. The Court rejected importing the land-based invitee/licensee distinctions into maritime law. It said shipowners must exercise reasonable care toward all lawful persons on board whose presence is not hostile to the ship’s interests. The Court also explained that the district court’s instruction treating any contributory negligence as a complete bar was wrong, but the jury had implicitly found no negligence by Kermarec. The unseaworthiness claim was properly dismissed because Kermarec was not a member of the ship’s crew and was not performing seamen’s work.

Real world impact

Going forward, people lawfully aboard ships are protected by a single maritime duty of reasonable care rather than divided invitee/licensee rules. Shipowners must take ordinary care to prevent or warn of dangerous conditions such as a defectively tacked canvas runner. The Court ordered that the jury verdict be reinstated and directed the trial court to enter judgment for the injured visitor.