During the voyage of the Ship "New England" from Bremerhaven to New Orleans a large number of passengers died en route. As a protest against alleged unhealthy conditions, which contributed to the deaths of many passengers, about 20 of the passengers sued for damages in the amount of $500.00 per passenger.

The plaintiffs alleged that the the master and crew deprived them of sufficient food and water which caused their families to suffer "great want, hunger, thirst and starvation, to the great injury of the health, and deprivation of the comfort, and danger of the lives of the libelants and their families".

The court ruled on the issue as being one of a breach of contract.

Although, as a conservation measure, there had been a reduction of the rations of water at the beginning of the voyage in order to have more water available when the ship would be sailing in the tropics, the main contributing factor to the deaths of many of the passengers was cholera, which had been quite prevalent at the port of embarkation.

The judge found that the claims of the plaintiffs were without merit and ordered that the "libel must therefore be dismissed with costs".