Johnnsson v. American Tug Boat Co.

Citations

• 85 Wash. 212
• 147 P. 1147

Syllabus

<p>Collision — Suit for Damages — Fairway — Burden of Proof. The middle of an arm of Puget Sound, four miles wide and navigable for large vessels its entire width, is not, as a matter of law, a “fairway,” within the act of Congress (2 Fed. Stat. Ann. 163) prohibiting “to any vessel or boat engaged in fishing the right of obstructing a fairway used by vessels other than fishing vessels or boats;” and upon the defense of the statute, in an action for colliding with a fishing boat therein, the burden is upon the defendant to show that the location was a “fairway.”</p> <p>Collision — -Suit for Damages — Defenses—Fault as Cause of Collision. Carrying on the occupation of fishing without having obtained a license, in compliance with the fishing regulations of the state, is not a defense to an action for damages for injuries to a fishing boat and nets sustained in a collision in navigable waters, as there was no causal connection between the neglect to obtain a license and the collision.</p>