French brig Euryale (1863)

A suit for damages was filed in the District Court against the owners of Sapphire on behalf of the Euryale's owner, Napoleon III, on 24 December.[5][4] The French alleged that the Sapphire had failed to anchor securely and had anchored too close to the Euryale.[4] The court ruled in favor of Napoleon and awarded $15,000 in damages. The defendants appealed the case to the Circuit Court and, after that also ruled against them appealed to the United States Supreme Court in July 1869. The Supreme Court met on the case from 16 February 1871.[5][4]

The Supreme Court first considered whether Napoleon III, as Emperor of France, had any right to bring a case in the American courts because he could not be called as a witness as Admiralty law would allow in other cases. The justices noted that Euryale, as a French Navy vessel, would also not have been able to be inspected under an American warrant. The court decided that foreign sovereigns were as entitled as any other foreign person to bring cases.[4]

A second point considered was whether the deposition of Napoleon in summer 1870 rendered the case void. The court ruled that the case was brought de facto in the name of the French government, not in that of the emperor personally, and ownership of it could be transferred to the French Third Republic, as had been the ownership of the Euryale. The judgement recognized the continuance of obligations by successor governments recognised by the United States.[5][4]

The final point considered by the Supreme Court was the decisions of the inferior courts on the merits of the case. The Supreme Court considered that the distance the Sapphire anchored away from the Euryale was sufficient, as had been testified by experienced pilots, and no complaint had been made before the accident. However the Supreme Court agreed with the inferior courts that the Sapphire, by only using a single anchor, had failed to make herself secure. They found that the ship's second anchor had not been used until the first anchor had failed. The court found some failings with the actions taken by the crew of the Euryale, whose captain was not on board. The justices determined that her first officer had not been on deck since 11 pm and the third officer, called to the deck at 3 am, had failed to recognize the danger of the approaching Sapphire. They recorded that the third officer did not return to the deck until minutes before collision and that the action he ordered, hoisting of the jib, was correct but too late to avoid the collision. The court recorded that the Euryale's watchman made a report to his seniors between 4 am and 5 am notifying them of the danger posed by the approaching Sapphire. In its decision the court found both parties at fault, overturning the decisions of the inferior courts and ordered damages split equally between the two parties.[4]

However, before the Supreme Court could render a verdict the Euryale was wrecked on Starbuck Island, an uninhabited reef in the Central Pacific, on 4 March 1870. She was commanded at the time by Lieutenant Chauviniere who noted a very strong westerly current.[6]