Robins Dry Dock & Repair Co. v. Dahl, 266 U.S. 449 (1925)

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Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company v. Dahl

No. 316

Argued December 4, 1924
Decided January 5, 1925
266 U.S. 449

ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT

OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Syllabus

1. An injury suffered by a workman while repairing a completed vessel afloat in navigable waters, and due to the negligence of his employer, is a maritime tort. P. 457.

2. In such cases, the rights and liabilities of the parties arise out of and depend upon the maritime law and cannot be enlarged or impaired by state statute. Id.

3. In an action based upon such an alleged maritime tort in a state court, an instruction that the jury, in deciding whether the employer was negligent, might consider the provisions of a local law regulating the duty of employers to furnish safe scaffolds, etc., for their employees was manifestly erroneous and material. Id., 197 N.Y.S. 463, 202 N.Y. 922, reversed.

Error to a judgment of the Supreme Court of New York entered on mandate of affirmance from the Appellate Division, in favor of Dahl in his action for damages resulting from personal injuries received by him in the course of his employment by the dry dock company and due, as he alleged, to the company’s negligent failure to furnish him with a safe place in which to work. Review by the New York Court of Appeals was refused. For the decision of the Appellate Division on an earlier trial, see Dahl v. Robins Dry Dock Co., 203 App.Div. 795.