Opinion · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation v. Marshland Dredging Company, Inc.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Corp. v. Marshland Dredging Co., 455 F.2d 957 (5th Cir. 1972)

Type
Opinion
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1972-03-02
Topic
litigation

How later courts describe this case

  • denying recovery where owner of production plant suffered losses from interruption of gas services due to damage to another owner’s pipeline
  • manufacturer suffered economic damages when heavy anchor was dropped and punctured gas pipeline, interrupting gas service to manufacturer's plant
  • “We agree that recovery by Kaiser is precluded as a matter of law because there is . . . no contention that the interference with Kaiser’s contract rights was intentional.”

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation v. Marshland Dredging Company, Inc.. The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

Cited by
30 opinions
KAISER ALUMINUM CHEM. v. MARSHLAND DREDGING,455 F.2d 957(5th Cir. 1972)
KAISER ALUMINUM CHEMICAL CORPORATION, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, v. MARSHLAND
DREDGING COMPANY, INC., DEFENDANT-APPELLEE.
No. 71-3042.
Summary Calendar.fn*
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
March 2, 1972.
Page 958
F. W. Middleton, Jr., Baton Rouge, La., for plaintiff-appellant.

James H. Daigle, New Orleans, La., E. Leland Richardson, Baton Rouge, La., George B. Matthews, New Orleans, La., for defendant-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Before BELL, DYER and CLARK, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
[1] Claiming diminishment of its gas supply caused by Marshland's fracture of the underwater line of its supplier, Sugar Bowl Gas Company, Kaiser sued Marshland for consequential damages. From an adverse summary judgment for Marshland, Kaiser appeals. We affirm.

[2] The facts are undisputed. A barge owned by Marshland Dredging, while engaged in cleaning an outfall canal entering the Mississippi under a contract with Humble Oil, dropped a heavy anchor which punctured a high pressure gas pipeline owned and operated by Sugar Bowl Gas Company. This puncture caused immediate interruption of gas fuel service to Kaiser's production plant located a short distance north of the point where the pipeline was damaged, resulting in shutdown expenses and production losses of $170,229, for which Kaiser seeks recovery. The gas fuel was being supplied to Kaiser under contract by Sugar Bowl Gas.

[3] In granting summary judgment, the trial judge relied primarily on Robins Dry Dock Repair Co. v. Flint, 1927,275 U.S. 303,48 S.Ct. 134,72 L.Ed. 290, that "as a general rule, * * * a tort to the person or property of one man does not make the tortfeasor liable to another merely because the injured person was under a contract with that other unknown to the doer of the wrong."275 U.S. at 309,48 S.Ct. at 135.

[4] We agree that recovery by Kaiser is precluded as a matter of law because there is (1) no contention that the interference with Kaiser's contract rights was intentional; (2) no evidence that Marshland had knowledge of the existence of the contract between Kaiser and Sugar Bowl Gas, and (3) no showing of facts, by affidavit or otherwise, in opposition to the motion for summary judgment, sufficient to create a genuine issue for trial, of anything more than merely the negligent interference with contract rights.SeeFed.R.Civ.P.56(e).

[5] Affirmed.Page 965
  1. Rule 18, 5 Cir.; See Isbell Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizens Casualty Co. of New York et al., 5 Cir. 1970,431 F.2d 409, Part I. ↩