Canadian National Railway Company v. Ernest Norman (The William Carson) - Supreme Ct. of Newfoundland Ct. of Appeal (Mifflin C.J.N., Morgan & Gushue JJ.A.) - 8 September 1982

Unseaworthy vessel - Exercise of due diligence by owners

Ernest Norman claimed damages from the Canadian National Railway Company (CNR) for the loss of certain goods carried by CNR under a bill of lading on the motor vessel William Carson which sank on route from St. Anthony to Cartwright, Newfoundland on 3 June 1977 with the loss of all cargo onboard. At first instance, CNR argued that it was entitled to rely on the exculpatory provisions of the Carriage of Goods by Water Act, RSC 1970. It maintained that it had exercised due diligence in providing a seaworthy ship and that the loss had been occasioned by a peril of the sea, namely ice, which holed it. At first instance, the judge found that the vessel sank because she filled with water after being holed by ice; that she was unseaworthy for the voyage, or unfit to encounter the ordinary peril through which she had to sail - the ice pack; that CNR had failed to prove that it had exercised due diligence; and that CNR had in any event failed to show that the cause of the loss was one of the listed exculpatory causes. Judgment was entered for Ernest Norman. On appeal to the Court of Appeal: