Italia Societa Per Azioni Di Navigazione v. Oregon Stevedoring Co., Inc.

Summary

The Court held that a stevedore’s implied warranty of workmanlike service is breached when the stevedore supplies equipment that is defective and causes injury, even if the defect was latent and the stevedore was not negligent. The relevant inquiry is whether the equipment was reasonably safe and fit for its intended use, not whether the stevedore knew or should have known of the defect. The judgment was reversed and remanded because the lower courts had not decided whether the contract’s express negligence-liability provision affected the implied warranty. The dissent argued that the decision improperly imposed insurer-like liability and that the contract assigned unseaworthiness liability to the shipowner.