Turner v. United States (27 F.2d 134, 1928)

MANTON, Circuit Judge.

On April 20, 1920, the American steamship Aseolus, the property of the appellee, and the British steamship Zero, under charter to the appellant, collided, and the latter, with her cargo, sank and became a total loss. The managing owner of the Zero and his co-owners filed a libel for damages for the loss of the hull and on behalf of the crew for their loss of personal effects. The British Board of Trade, as owner of part of the cargo of frozen meats laden aboard the Zero, sued for its loss, and the appellant filed a libel for loss of the value of the charter, its cargo, and as owner of the refrigerating machinery and insulation installed in the Zero. The only question presented upon this appeal is the one involving the loss of the refrigerating machinery and insulation installed on the Zero. The other claims have been disposed of.

The final decree entered provides that the damages of the libelants Turner et al., as owners of the Zero, and the appellant, as owner of the refrigerating plant, are offset by damages sustained by the appellee. The appellant contends that it should have been allowed full recovery for its damages as owner of and for the loss of the refrigerating plant, without deduction or offset. The Zero was under time charter