United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Ex Parte Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co., 106 U.S. 5 (1882)

Ex Parte Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company

Decided October 30, 1882

106 U.S. 5

Syllabus

An appeal will not lie from a decree of the circuit court which adjudged to none of the libellants in a collision suit who had distinct causes of action against the vessel at fault a sum exceeding $5,000.

A collision occurred in the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, between the steamer "Knickerbocker," owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and the barge "J. J. Munger," owned by Jeannette Maxon. The barge was loaded with grain belonging to the partnership firm of J. & C. Moore & Co. Both the barge and her cargo were injured in the collision, and the owner of the barge united with the owners of the cargo in a libel against the steamer to recover the damages they had respectively sustained. The suit thus begun terminated in a decree in the Circuit Court for the District of Maryland in favor of the owner of the barge for $1,471.20, and in favor of the owners of the cargo for $3,709.13. The railroad company, as the claimant of the steamer, prayed an appeal to this Court, which was refused by the circuit court on the ground that the value of the matter in dispute between the steamer and the respective libellants was less than $5,000. The company now asks a mandamus from this Court requiring the Circuit Court to allow an appeal.

A collision occurred in the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, between the steamer Knickerbocker, owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and the barge J. J. Munger, owned by Jeannette Maxon. The barge was loaded with grain belonging to the partnership firm of J. & C. Moore and Co. Both the barge and her cargo were injured in the collision, and the owners of the barge united with the owners of the cargo in a libel against the steamer to recover the damages they had respectively sustained. The suit thus begun terminated in a decree in the Circuit Court for the District of Maryland in favor of the owner of the barge for $1,471.20 and in favor of the owners of the cargo for $3,709.13. The railroad company, as the claimant of the steamer, prayed an appeal to this Court, which was refused by the circuit court on the ground that the value of the matter in dispute between the steamer and the respective libellants was less then $5,000. The company now asks a mandamus from this Court requiring the circuit court to allow an appeal.