The T.J. Hooper
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
53 F.2d 107 (S.D.N.Y. 1931)
Tugboats owned by the same operator (defendant), the T.J. Hooper and the Montrose, were towing coal barges from Virginia to New York when a severe storm off New Jersey caused the barges and cargo to be lost. Neither tugboat carried a reliable radio that would have relayed storm warnings, while four other tugboats operating nearby did have radios, received the warnings, and safely reached harbor. Trial testimony established that roughly 90% of coastal tugboats carried radios and that a radio was considered near-essential equipment, even though no law required it. Cargo owners sued for their losses, the barge owner cross-claimed against the tugboat owner for negligent towing, and the tugboat owner sought to limit its liability.
Whether a business breaches its duty of care by failing to adopt a new safety technology when that technology's use has become widespread, nearly universal practice within the relevant industry.