John Archibald Campbell, Steamer Louisiana v. Fisher — Opinion of the Court
“ The night was moonlight; and though the light was occasionally obscured, the evidence does not show that it was so, to a degree that rendered the navigation of the bay at all dangerous, if care, skill, and vigilance, had been employed upon the different vessels. ”
John Archibald Campbell, Steamer Louisiana v. Fisher — Opinion of the Court
“ Even if the schooner was not bound to display a light, as an act of legal duty, and even if the omission to do so was not, in fact, any want of care, yet it was no fault of the steamer, if the persons who were on the lookout on board of the steamer were physically unable, from the absence of a light, to discern the schooner, in due time to have made the necessary dispositions to avoid a collision. ”
John Archibald Campbell, Steamer Louisiana v. Fisher — Opinion of the Court
“ The decisions of this court have settled that this was the duty of the steamer under such circumstances. (Peck v. Sanderson, 17 How., 178.) It is contended on the part of the appellees that the schooner is responsible for failing to carry a light. In the case of the Osmanli, (7 Notes of Cases, 507,) the learned judge of the admiralty says: 'That no question has been more mooted and left more unsettled than this-whether it is the duty of a sailing vessel at night to show a light? Beyond all doubt, it has been determined there is no such general obligation ”
