Stilk v. Myrick Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

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Stilk v. Myrick | 170 Eng. Rep. 1168 (1809)
Perhaps enticed by the attractions onshore, two sailors ditched their ship in St. Petersburg. The captain promised their wages to the remaining crew members. The court in Stilk versus Myrick had to decide whether this was a promise he had to keep.
Stilk took a job as a sailor on a ship traveling from London through the Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg and back. He and the captain agreed that he would be paid five pounds a month. During the voyage, two sailors deserted. The captain attempted to replace them at Cronstadt, an island near St. Petersburg, but couldn’t find anyone. Instead, the captain entered an agreement with the rest of the crew in which he promised that, if he couldn’t hire two new sailors in Gottenburgh, Sweden, he would divide the wages of the missing crew members among the remaining ones. The captain couldn’t find new sailors at Gottenburgh, either.
Stilk and the other eight crew members brought the ship back to London. When they arrived home, the captain refused to pay the extra wages. Stilk sued in the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division.
The captain’s attorney, Garrow, argued that the agreement was contrary to public policy and thus void. He pointed out that it was common for sailing crews to be thinned out by death or desertion, and allowing crews to receive extra wages to continue a voyage would result in exorbitant demands. Sailors might even threaten to sink a ship if their demands weren’t met.
The attorney general, arguing Stilk’s case, pointed out that the captain wasn’t under any constraint when he promised the crew extra wages. The agreement was made on shore and there was no danger or emergency. Of course the sailors weren’t permitted to force concessions from the captain, but it wasn’t unfair for them to receive the promised extra compensation for extra work.
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