Trial time....I need help, please!?

Question

Ok. This is for my business law class.

Imagine being in the time of the sinking of the titanic.
I am the Defense attorney, and i need to put the blame OFF of White Star Lines. I have received many ridiculous answers, God, Poseidon....i mean, i need something i can actually defend..Sure, the captain is responsible, however....i need to find out all of the facts.
Who do you think should be the blame?
Why do you believe this?
How do you think i should propose this?
Thank you, and please help me with tips...

Ok. Stuart you are just rude...maybe you should just screw yourself? yeah, have fun with that! and i am passing with a 98...so that's failing alright! anyway, i was trying to explore my options, make a wider range, i believe that the boat manufacture had alot to do with mechanical issues, the reporter was the one who said they needed to go faster, and the watchmen should pay closer attention...i've watched this movie 3 times..which makes me very drowzy...because it's a bore..(to me) after a while....so get the facts straight hun...i did do my homework, im just asking for suggestions!

i know that not many are lawyers, i was asking options, not advice. again, i did my homework, just trying to explore options...have you tried searching the titanic? there are loads of sites, many that do not say what i please.
i will try minimizing, thank you to the kind people who actually didn't leave rude unwanted messages....

erm...the captains dead at this time....he never...made it..

Answer 1

Have you studied the Learned Hand negligence formula? You need to argue that risk is small and that most ships make it. Also argue that "fix" is large. How about that the only way to stop ships from hitting icebergs would require ships to stop crossing the ocean. Or that making ships go further south would increase travel time by X amount. The obvious response to this is that the "fix" is having enough lifeboats, which isn't that difficult.

Also, when defending against a negligence suit, you can usually argue assumption of risk: that everyone aboard the ship assumed the risk of the ship sinking. When traveling by ship, everyone knows there's a possibility the ship could sink. Duh.

Answer 2

Hello Crystal, As a defense lawyer you will have to go over every piece of information that is mage available to you. You have to make sure that all information has been disclosed to you by the company as well as the prosecuting attorney. Pour over every statement, see if there are any inconsistentcies. If there are use them to your advantage. Look for things that could be mitigating or at least can put doubt in the mind of the jury. Check the ships' log book, this will tell you when the captain was on the bridge and when he was off the bridge. Check and see if other crew members followed procedures The key thing is to take all of the small things that could put doubt in the mind of the jury and present it to them in such a way that the little things look larger than what they are.

Answer 3

Since you're the Defense Attorney, that means you can travel back in time. Just put some wagers on things in the past, that you know are long-shots, then you won't have to work.

Otherwise, if you insist on defending them anyway, maybe you could say "an Act of God" which means like lightening, Katrina Hurricane, etc. Insurance companies get out of having to pay, because it's an "Act of God" not a human error, so MAYBE you can use that as a defense, although they may not be familiar with that defense there back in time.

Answer 4

White Star Lines should have the blame, but lets' minimize it, you can pass some of the blame on to the architect company, the builders, the inspectors, the skilled labour, the materials used......it took these people to build and pass the ship to be sea worthy...you can say there was a defect in the nautical equipment....you can actually file a class action suit on behalf of White Star Lines against the above mentioned...the possibilities are endless

Answer 5

Based on what I know you have one hell of an uphill battle to fight. Here are some questions you may have to overcome: White Star knew there weren't enough lifeboats for all passengers. According to the movie the Captain felt pressure to increase speed to show Titanic's superiority (duress). I saw a documentary that stated the binoculars used by the look-outs were left in London- proper equipment may have prevented the accident.

As someone who has taken many law classes in college your best option is to try and think how the prosecution is going to argue their case. That's always worked for me.

Another option for you is to argue that White Star followed company policy and everything was done by the book. Of course you could always settle out of court (J/K).

Answer 6

In this era, as today, the "ultimate" responsibility of what occurrs aboard ship still lays upon the shoulders of the captain.

However, the RMS Titanic had a multitude of problems associated with that era. Lifeboats numbers exceeded the required amount by law for the era, yet still insufficient to support the number of passengers. Does that swing liability to the makers of the law?

The construction of the ships rudder was smaller than it should have been, preventing a quicker response from the helm. Does that swing liability to the ship and rudder builder?

International law had not established a set standard for ships in distress nor for the continued watch of iceberg hazards.

The captain of the Californian failed to "reasonably" investigate what appeared to his on duty watch as "distress flares."

J. Bruce Ismay is possibly to blame for placing undue pressures upon Captain Smith for an expedited journey to make White Star better than their competition Cunard Lines.

This is just a "tip of the iceberg" for your arguement!

Hope it helps!

Answer 7

Aren't some people rude???
Ok...I LOVE to argue points..and should have been a lawyer myself, and would LOVE to have been a prosecuter...
The blame? The ships builder for poor construction and/or not enough life boats, life jackets and other life saving equipment...the adverters that advertised it was "unsinkable"...the crew member of the ship that got the SOS and did nothing...the crew that did not allow the passengers in "steerage" to have the same help as the weathlier passengers...
Why do I believe all this? facts..historical facts
I would take the stand of the "poor" passengers who died needlessly because they were not considered as 'important" as their wealthier counterparts...I would become the lawyer for those people and fight for restitution for the surviving familes...

Answer 8

I would feel the blame would fall on the builder of the ship, for claiming the ship was so indestructible, and giving false hope, and also the Captain. He is responsible for the ship, and all lives aboard. An iceberg is like a tree, you can see it, don't hit it. They don't move.

Answer 9

Why don't you Google search the "Titanic" here on line. Find out the facts yourself. Then construct your own defense.
You're lucky anyone answered. This is YOUR business law class.
Few here are lawyers!

Answer 10

If White Star Lines screwed up, they screwed up. Maybe you just minimize the damage. Also, not knowing what happened, how can anyone make up an excuse for them?