Claim of
MARCELLE NAVRITIL
Wife of
MICHEL NAVRITIL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK.
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| IN THE MATTER - of the - Petition of the OCEANIC STEAN NAVIGATION COMPANY, LTD., for limitation of liability as owner of the Steamship "TITANIC". |
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TO THE COMMISSIONER APPOINTED TO RECEIVE CLAIMS HEREIN:
The claim of the beneficiaries upon the death of MICHAEL NAVRATIL and through Alexander Von Nuber, Consul General of Austria-Hungary, upon information and belief alleges as follows:
1: That the claimants are the beneficiaries of MICHAEL NAVRATIL who died on or about the 15th day of April 1912; that at the time of her death they were and now are residents of Austria-Hungary.
2: That the above-named petitioner is a corporation duly organized and incorporated under the laws of Great Britain and Ireland. That the steamship “TITANIC” was a British vessel belonging to said petitioner, and that said petitioner is a common carrier of passengers and goods for hire.
3: That on or about the 10th day of April 1912, the said decedent took passage at Southampton, England, on the said steamship “TTTANIC” under a contract previously made between him and the petitioner by the terms of which petitioner agreed safely to transport the said decedent as a passenger from Southampton to New York.
4: That while on said voyage and on the high seas and on or about April 14th 1912, the said steamship “TITANIC” collided with a large iceberg and shortly afterward sank, causing the death of the said decedent and a large number of other persons. That such loss of the steamship “TITANIC” and the lives and property were caused by the wrongful acts, neglect, fault and negligence of petitioner and its agents and servants in the construction, navigation and management of said vessel and in failing to make the said vessel seaworthy and properly manned, equipped and supplied, and in failing to provide sufficient life boats and other appliances and in failing to man such life boats as were provided with sufficient and properly drilled crews, and in failing after. the said collision, to take proper measures for the rescue of the said decedent and other persons on board the “TITANIC”, and otherwise, and such loss was with the privity, fault and knowledge of the petitioner and occurred without fault on the part of said decedent.
5: That, the English Statute, known as Lord Campbell's Act, Vict. 9 and 10 chapter 93, and amendments thereof, provide that, when the death of a person is caused by wrongful act, neglect or default which, if death had not ensued, would entitle the party injured to maintain an action, and recover damages in respect thereof, the person who would have been liable if death had not ensued shall be liable in an action for the benefit of the wife, husband, parent and child, grandparent, grand-child, step-father, or step-son and step-daughter of the person whose death shall have been so caused. Such statute further provides that such action is to be commenced within twelve calendar months after the death of the deceased and shall be brought in the name of the executor or administrator of the deceased, or if none has been appointed, or if appointed, fails to act, then it may be brought by and in the name of any or all of the persons whose benefit it would have been, if brought in the name of the executor or administrator, and such statute provides that in every such action the jury may give such damages as they may think proportionate to the injury resulting from such death to the parties respectively for whom and for whose benefit such action shall be brought. That by reason of the facts set forth in the preceding paragraphs hereof, if death had not ensued from the aforesaid wrongful acts, neglect and default of the petitioner and its agents and servants, but if the said decedent had merely suffered personal injury therefrom, they would have been entitled under the Laws of England as well as the State of New York, to maintain an action and recover damages in respect to such injury.
6: That no Executor or Administrator of the estate of said decedent has been appointed.
7: That by reason of the premises and the loss of life of the said decedent, claimants have been damaged in the sum of $40,000 and these claimants s have a claim and cause of action against the petitioner for the recovery of the said sum for the benefit of themselves.
8: That said decedent left him surviving his widow Marcelle M. and Edmund Roger and Michael M. his sons (the present claimants) but left him surviving no father or mother, no step-child or step-children, no step-parents or grand-parents.
WHEREFORE claimants hereby make and file this claim against the above-named petitioner for the sum of $40,000 and pray that the Commissioner appointed to receive claims herein will report to the court that the said sum is due to these claimants, and that these claimants recover from the petitioner herein damages as aforesaid with interest and costs, and for such other and further relief as may be just.
(sig) Morris Cukor
Proctor for claimants,
No. 63 Park Row,
Borough of Manhattan,
New York City.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK; SS:
MORRIS CUKOR being duly sworn deposes and says, that he is the proctor of the above-named claimants; that the said claimants are absent from this district and more than a hundred miles from the City of New York, and deponent is authorized to act for the said claimants herein; that he has read the foregoing claim and knows the contents thereof, and the matters stated therein are true to the best of his knowledge, information and belief; that deponent’s means of information are statements made to him by Alexander von Nuber, Consul General of Austria-Hungary, whose subject said decedent was and whose subjects the claimants and the said other beneficiaries are, which he believes to be true.
Sworn to before me this
27th day of March 1913. (sig) Morris Cukow
(sig) Illegible
Commissioner of Deeds,
N. Y. City.