Vaughan v. Atkinson (1961)
- Docket
- 323
- Decided
- 1961-01-01
- Category
- General
Summary
Question: 1. Did the district court err in offsetting Vaughan's possible recovery by the income earned as a cab driver? 2. Is the shipowner liable for attorney's fees? Conclusion: Yes and yes. In a 5-2 opinion for the Court, Justice William O. Douglas held that allowing offset would encourage callous ship owners to refuse maintenance and cure. Moreover, courts in admiralty have adequate equity power to treat attorney's fees as damages from failure to pay maintenance (and cure) when it was a willful breach of duty. Justice Potter Stewart, joined by Justice John Marshall Harlan II, dissented. While there should be no duty to mitigate, wages should be offset when actually earned. The duty to pay maintenance and cure was created to make the seaman whole, not afford him a windfall.