You are the judge and have just concluded a trial withthe following facts. You will be writing your decision concerningthe case. Do not assume facts not presented.
It all began one stormy night following a thaw of the ice ladenColumbia River. This is the story of the misadventures of the ship“Miss Behavin”. Miss Behavin was moored at a marina forthe winter about three miles up river from the Ice Harbor Bridge. Astorm had broken loose large pieces of ice as was common each year.The ice was floating down river and accumulating in front of theMiss Behavin as usually happens each year.
The ice caused pressure on the ropes of the marina mooring shoreanchor such that the mooring shore anchor gave way and the shipbegan to drift into the swift moving channel of the river. It waslater determined that the mooring shore anchor, constructed andmaintained by the marina, was improperly constructed. The onlyperson on board Miss Behavin was the shipkeeper who was responsiblefor general maintenance and cleaning (could not operate theship).
After the ship broke loose the shipkeeper attempted to releasethe ships anchors but failed to do it correctly and the anchors didnot drop. Miss Behavin went careening down the river stern first.It struck the bow of the ship “Odd A Sea” which alsobroke loose of its mooring. The Odd A Sea shipkeeper was visitinghis girlfriend and was not present on the ship to take action. Thefacts presented established that if either ship had lowered itsanchors there would have been no change in the damages since theriver bottom was so rocky and the anchors would not have stuck.
The Odd A Sea hit and damaged the ship “Sea Duction”which was moored next to it. Both ships, the Odd A Sea and the MissBehavin, drifted toward the bridge. Based on a call from theMarina, the Coast Guard called the Ice Harbor Bridge operator totell her of the impending disaster. Unfortunately the bridgeoperator was not at her station but at the local tavern so she didnot raise the bridge. Since the bridge was down, both ships wedgedthemselves against the bridge, damaging the bridge and the icebegan to form behind them, causing an ice dam. Two people on thebridge were injured in the collision and the river beganoverflowing the banks for two miles upriver damaging many buildingsalong the river.
You are the judge. You have heard all the evidence andnow you need to write a decision determining who has what claimsagainst whom.