8. Contribution.—
The 59th Rule in Admiralty provides that the claimant of any vessel proceeded against, or any respondent proceeded against in personam may bring in a petition alleging fault in any other vessel contributing to the collision, and praying that such other vessel be made a party to the suit. The other parties to the suit are to answer the petition and the vessel or party newly brought in shall answer the libel. This brings in both vessels, provided the vessel so brought in is within the jurisdiction of the court and can be reached by its process, and makes it possible for the court to enforce appropriate contribution of damage by the parties in fault.
Since we have already seen that, in a case in which both vessels are in court in the first place, the court will decree contribution, there remains only the case in which a claimant of lost cargo has brought suit against one vessel or her owner, and the other vessel cannot be reached by process of the court. Suppose that in such a case the cargo-owner gets a decree against the vessel or party defendant and for his full damage, can the vessel or the party thus mulcted maintain an independent suit for contribution against the other offending ship? It can only be said that on this point the authorities are in direct conflict; however, in the modern case of Lehigh Valley R. R. Co. v. Cornell Steamboat Co., 218 U. S. 264, it seems to be clearly inferable that in the opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States such an action is maintainable.
What has been said with respect to damage suffered by owners of lost cargo, applies equally to damages for personal injuries sustained as the result of a collision.