Please write your special examination number in the upper right-hand corner of this page and return these examination questions with your blue books.

This is a three-hour examination for J.D. students. Any LL.M. student whose native language is not English is entitled to an extra hour.

There are three questions. When calculating the final grade, I will give each answer the weight indicated at the beginning of the question. You should consider allocating your time accordingly.

This is an open-book examination. During the examination you may consult any written materials except materials checked out of the reserve section of the law library.

Read each question carefully and follow the directions. Think before you write. Organize your answer and emphasize those points you think are most significant. If you find an ambiguity or if you need more facts, make reasonable assumptions and state these clearly in your answer. Be concise. Be clear. Good luck!

The Government of Eritrea approaches you to advise it on the drafting of a Maritime Code. Drawing upon your knowledge of U.S. admiralty law (and any other maritime law with which you are familiar), advise the Government on the three most important issues the Maritime Code should address. Assume for the purposes of this question that Eritrea's formal legal system traces its roots to European civil law. Describe not only the issues but also suggest the appropriate content of the Maritime Code on each of the three issues.

Robert and Mary Anderson go on a camping vacation to Lake Texoma. (Assume for the purposes of this problem that Lake Texoma is a lake along the Texas-Oklahoma border created by a man-made dam of the Red River, a river which ultimately runs down to the Mississippi and out into the Gulf of Mexico.) The camping ground at which the Andersons stay offers campers the alternative of staying on a houseboat tied to the shore of the lake where the camping ground comes down to the water. The Andersons choose to stay in the houseboat. Because of the heat, they close all the windows in the sleeping area of the houseboat and turn on the air conditioning. The air conditioner leaks carbon monoxide fumes and as a result the Andersons are seriously injured. Hal Mayer, the owner of the houseboat and camping ground, discovers the Andersons the following morning and rushes them to the hospital where they remain in critical but stable condition.

Mr. Mayer promptly consults you about his potential liability. He concedes that the defective air conditioner caused the injury although he tells you that his manager of the camping ground conscientiously inspects the conditioner once a week. Mr. Mayer asks, however, whether the fact that the accident occurred on a houseboat floating on Lake Texoma is relevant to his potential liability. Advise Mr. Mayer.

Core Entertainment Company, a New York import-export enterprise, sells 400 video display unit to Cinema Ex˘tica S.A., a corporation doing business in Brazil. The units display sophisticated electronic games. Cinema Ex˘tica plans to use the units in video arcades it is establishing throughout Brazil. The sales contract provides that delivery is to be "CIF Rio de Janeiro (Incoterms 1990)."

To satisfy its sales contract with Cinema Ex˘tica, Core Entertainment purchases the units from a manufacturing company in Ohio and contracts with Navegantes Sud America, a Panamanian company, to carry the units to Brazil.

The Ohio manufacturer loads the 400 units in two containers and sends the sealed containers by truck to a terminal at the port of Philadelphia, where they arrive on January 5, 1997.

Sometime between January 5 and January 8 unknown persons break into one of the containers, remove 60 units, and reseal the container.

On January 8, without noting the difference in weight of the containers, an agent of the carrier loads the containers on the container ship, S.S. DEL NORTE, for carriage to Brazil. The master issues a bill of lading to the Ohio manufacturer listing the cargo as "2 containers said to contain video display units (400)". The bill contains a Clause Paramount stating that the U.S. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act governs the rights of the parties to the bill. It states that any legal provisions limiting the carrier's liability extends to "all agents" of the carrier. The bill also provides that all disputes are to be resolved exclusively in the courts of the jurisdiction where the carrier has its principal place of business.

The Ohio manufacturer endorses and delivers the bill of lading to Core Entertainment. Core Entertainment, in turn, endorses and airmails the bill of lading to Cinema Ex˘tica, which receives the bill before the S.S. DEL NORTE arrives in Rio de Janeiro.

On its voyage to Brazil, the S.S. DEL NORTE runs into severe weather customarily encountered on that trade route. As a result, water seeps into the container that had been broken into and warps the electronic circuit boards in the display units.

Upon arrival at Rio de Janeiro on January 21, the carrier turns over the two containers to Cinema Ex˘tica upon surrender of the bill of lading. At this time neither the carrier nor Cinema Ex˘tica notices the water seepage. Cinema Ex˘tica first discovers the missing units and the water damage when it unloads the containers five days later. Cinema Ex˘tica promptly notifies the carrier.

A representative of Cinema Ex˘tica now approaches you for advice on what its rights are against the carrier (Navegantes Sud America) and against the terminal operator in Philadelphia. Advise Cinema Ex˘tica.