F. O. Bradley and Sons Ltd v Federal Steam Navigation Company Ltd
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 04 April 1927 |
| Date | 04 April 1927 |
| Court | House of Lords |
House of Lords
Lords Sumner, Atkinson, Wrenbury, Carson, and Blanesburgh
F. O. Bradley and Sons Limited v. Federal Steam Navigation Company Limited
Kendall v. The London and South-Western Railway Company 26 L. T. Rep. 735 L Rep. 7 C. P. 373
Sea-Carriage of Goods Act 1904 (No. 14 of 1904)
Bill of lading Cargo of apples Damage to cargo
Decision of the Court of Appeal affirmed.
ASPINALL'S MARITIME LAW CASES. 265 H.L.] F. O. BRADLEY AND SONS LIM. V. FEDERAL STEAM NAVIGATION CO. LIM. [H.L. House of Lords. Feb. 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, and April 4,1927. (Before Lords Sumner, Atkinson, Wrenbury, Carson, and Bl??nesburgh.) F. O. Bradley and Sons Limited v. Federal Steam Navigation Company Limited. (a) ON APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL IN ENGLAND. Bill of lading - Cargo of apples - Damage to cargo - Cause of damage - " Inherent defect, quality, or vice of the goods "-Onus of proof -Statutes of Australia-Sea-Carriage of Goods Act 1904 (No. 14 of 1904). Apples were shipped from Hobart (Tasmania) to the United Kingdom on board the defendants' steamship N. under bills of lading, each of which contained the following overriding provision: " This bill of lading is to be read and construed as if every clause therein contained which is rendered illegal or null and void by the Sea-Carriage of Goods Act 1904 had never been inserted therein or had been cancelled and eliminated therefrom prior to the execution thereof and is issued subject to all the terms and provisions of and to all the exceptions from liability contained in such Act.'' And by the Sea-Carriage of Goods Act 1904 it was provided by sect. 8, sub-sect. (2); " In every bill of lading . . . unless the contrary intention appears, a clause shall be implied whereby, if the ship is at the beginning of the voyage seaworthy in all respects and properly manned, equipped and supplied, neither the ship nor her owner . . . shall be responsible for damage to . . . the goods resulting from . . . (d) the inherent defect, quality, or vice of the goods." When the apples, after their arrival in the United Kingdom, were distributed to the trade, extensive damage was found by reason of the fact that a large proportion of the apples were proved to be affected with a species of internal browning. An action was accordingly brought by the endorsees of the bills of lading against the shipowners claiming damages for breach of contract: for negligence and unseaworthiness; and the plaintiffs alleged that although the apples were good shipping apples, suitable for the voyage in kind, in ripeness and in packing, they were damaged on account of the faulty ventilation of the ship. The defendants' case was that the N. was a seaworthy ship and they relied on sect. 8, sub-sect. 2 (d), of the Act as exonerating them. Held, that the damage was caused to the apples not because of the ship or of the sea, or of the route, but because they were apples which were not fit to make the voyage in an ordinary way. This was not the kind of risk which the Act called on the shipowners to bear and it was well within the words " resulting from . . . inherent quality or vice.'" Decision of the Court of Appeal affirmed. Appeal by the plaintiffs from a judgment of the Court of Appeal (Bankes and Scrutton, L.JJ.; Atkin, L.J. dissenting) dated the 26th March 1926. The plaintiffs in the action, who were fruit merchants carrying on business in London, sought to recover from the defendants in respect of damage caused to a large consignment of Tasmanian apples shipped on board the defendants' steamship Northumberland, in the month of April 1921, for carriage from Hobart (Tasmania) to London and Liverpool. The plaintiffs claimed as owners of the consignment, namely, 15,272 cases of apples, and as holders for value and (or) endorsees of six bills of lading in respect thereof. No question arose as to the plaintiffs' title to the goods. The main question in issue at the trial was whether the damage occurred during transit, and if so, whether the defendants were liable. In the year 1921 when the voyage in question took place, the Northumberland was under requisition to His Majesty's Government at fixed Blue Book rates, and in accordance with directions given the Northumberland had been directed to proceed to Hobart and other ports and there load, inter alia, a cargo of apples. In pursuance of such direction she arrived at Hobart on the 18th April 1921, where she loaded a cargo consisting of 144,610 cases of apples (including the plaintiffs' consignment) and 8822 trays of pears. She arrived at Tilbury on the 15th June, where she discharged her London cargo and then proceeded to Liverpool. When the London consignment of apples came into the hands of sub-purchasers it was found that a proportion of the apples were affected with a species of internal browning, and the Liverpool consignment was found to be similarly affected. The plaintiffs' claim was based on breach of the contract to deliver safely evidenced by the bills of lading, and upon negligence and unseaworthiness in connection with the ventilation of the holds and the withdrawing of gases from the same. The defendants' case was that the Northumberland was a seaworthy ship; that there had been no negligence in or about the carriage; and that the damage was due to the inherent quality of the apples shipped and (or) to decay, and they relied on sect. 8, sub-sect. 2 (D), of the Australian Sea-Carriage of Goods Act 1904. The facts and relevant terms of the bills of lading and of the sections of the Act are set out in Lord Sumner's opinion. Branson, J. held that there must have been constitutional trouble with the apples, and that the vessel was not unseaworthy. He therefore directed judgment to be entered for the defendants. His decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeal (Bankes and Scrutton, L.JJ., Atkin, L.J. dissenting). The plaintiffs appealed. Stuart Bevan, K.C., S. L. Porter, K.C., and W. L. McNair for the appellants. (a)Reported by EDWARD J. M. CHAPLIN, Esq., Barrister-at-Law. 266 ASPINALL'S MARITIME LAW CASES. H.L.] F. O. BRADLEY AND SONS LIM. V. FEDERAL STEAM NAVIGATION CO. LIM. [H.L. W. A. Jowitt, K.C. and G. St. C. Pitcher for the respondents. The House took time for consideration. Lord Sumner.-In 1921 the respondents' steamship Northumberland discharged from her refrigerated compartments a large quantity of Tasmanian apples at Tilbury. No casualty and no exceptional weather had befallen the ship. The apples appeared to be and on the surface were in excellent condition, but, soon after they had been distributed to the trade, extensive damage was found. It was of a kind quite new to shippers and shipowners generally. In 1922 the Northumberland again shipped a large quantity of apples and similar damage again occurred. In neither year was this kind of damage confined either to this ship or to ships fitted with the same grid-refrigerating system. A scientific investigation of apples and their diseases, with special reference to storage and transport by sea, was at that time in progress...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Silver v Ocean Steam Ship Company Ltd
...Asp. Mar. Law Cas. 385 138 L. T. Rep. 421 (1928) 1 K. B. 717 Bradley and Sons v. Federated Steam Navigation Company LimitedDID=ASPM 17 Asp. Mar. Law Cas. 265 1927, 137 L. T. Rep. 266 Compania Naviera Vasconzada v. Churchill and SimDID=ASPMELR 10 Asp. Mar. Law Cas. 177 94 L. T. Rep. 59 (1906......
-
Paterson Steamships Ltd v Canadian Co-operative Wheat Producers Ltd
...(o.s.) 419 26 L. T. Rep. 442 L. Rep. 7 Q. B. 225 F. O. Bradley and Sons Limited v. Federal Steam Navigation Company LimitedDID=ASPM 17 Asp. Mar. Law Cas. 265 137 L. T. Rep. 266 Gosse Millard Limited v. Canadian Government Merchant Marine LimitedDID=ASPMELR 17 Asp. Mar Law Cas. 549 140 L. T.......