The Conemaugh

Background

Two ships collided, and cargo owners sued to recover their losses. One ship insisted it was entirely innocent and sought to escape liability instead of asking for the damages to be divided between the two vessels. After trials and appeals, the cargo owners obtained judgments against that ship which this Court affirmed. The ship later tried to change course and shift part of those judgments to the other vessel.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether the ship could, after losing, force a division of damages or recover extra payments from the other vessel without having pursued that course originally. The Court said no: the ship had asserted its innocence throughout and the cargo owners’ judgments were affirmed, so it could not now undo those results. The Court also considered the interest rate on the decree. Michigan law had a long-standing provision fixing seven percent interest on judgments and decrees; later statutes set general money interest at different rates but did not repeal the seven percent rule for judgments. The Court refused to read a repeal into the newer statutes and left the seven percent rate in place.

Real world impact

Cargo owners keep their confirmed recoveries, and a ship owner cannot relitigate or shift those judgments after the affirmance. Money decrees in this case carry seven percent interest under Michigan law, and lower courts’ handling of the mandate was affirmed.