Vallescura Rule

Vallescura Rule in Maritime Law

Note: There is more information on maritime/admiralty law here.

The following is a definition of Vallescura Rule, produced by Tetley, in the context of admiralty law: The rule derived from the United States Supreme Court decision in Schnell Co. v. S.S. Vallescura, 293 U.S. 296, 1934 AMC 1573 (1934), whereby, when cargo loss or damage is caused by two separate causes, one for which the carrier (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) is exempted from liability and the other for which he is not, the carrier has the burden of establishing what damage was due to the cause for which he is exempted, on pain of being held responsible for the entire damage. The Rule, which is also applied by U.K. courts, has been codified in the Hamburg Rules (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) at art. 5(7). See Tetley, M.C.C., 4 Ed., 2008 at pp. 324-325, 741-743, 774-777, 2242-2245; Tetley, Int’l. M. & A. L., 2003 at p. 100.