United States v. Reliable Transfer Co.
United States Supreme Court
421 U.S. 397 (1975)
Relevant factsFree
A tanker owned by Reliable Transfer Co. (Reliable) (plaintiff) ran aground on a sandbar, and Reliable sued the United States (defendant), claiming the Coast Guard negligently failed to maintain a warning light. The district court found Reliable 75 percent at fault and the Coast Guard 25 percent at fault, noting the captain had navigational tools available but used none of them, yet under admiralty's traditional divided-damages rule, the court still split the damages equally between the parties.
IssueFree
Whether the divided-damages rule should apply in an admiralty case where the parties are not equally at fault and determining their comparative degree of fault is not particularly difficult.