The Atlanten

Citations

• 252 U.S. 313
• 40 S. Ct. 332
• 64 L. Ed. 586
• 1920 U.S. LEXIS 1577

Syllabus

<p>A charter party provided that, should any dispute arise, it should be settled by referees, to be appointed by the captain and the charterers respectively, whose decision, or that of an umpire, should be final, and that any party attempting to revoke such submission to arbitration without permission of court should be liable to pay the estimated freight as liquidated damages. Held, that this could not be construed to apply where there was not merely a dispute in carrying out the contract but a substantial repudiation of it, by the shipowner’s declining to go on with the voyage unless the freight rate were increased. P. 315. ■ •</p> <p>A clause in a charter party: “Penalty for non-performance of this agreement to be proved damages, not exceeding estimated amount of freight,” held inapplicable where the shipowner substantially repudiated the contract by refusing to go on with the voyage. P. 316.</p> <p>Such a clause provides a penalty and leaves the ordinary liability upon the undertakings of the contract unchanged. Id.</p> <p>Presumption that in such a matter the rule on the continent of Europe is the same as in England and the United States. Id.</p>