Recent Admiralty Jurisdiction Case Law
A few recent federal maritime decisions have shed further light on the boundaries of admiralty jurisdiction in the U.S. courts:
In Vasquez v. GMD Shipyard Corp., No. 08-4566 (2nd Cir., September 15, 2009), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found that a tort claim arising out of a death at a shipyard "graving dock" was properly in admiralty, even though the dock had no water in it at the time of the incident.
In In re Complaint of Mission Bay Jet Sports, LLC, No. 08-56142 (9th Cir. June 24, 2009), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a tort claim by passengers on a Sea-Doo watercraft who were injured while riding in San Diego's Mission Bay was subject to admiralty jurisdiction.
In New Hampshire Ins. Co. v. Home Sav. and Loan Co. of Youngstown, Ohio, No. 08-3902 (6th Cir. September 24, 2009), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the argument by an insurer that its policy, styled a "marine insurance policy," was sufficient to implicate federal admiralty jurisdiction in a declaratory judgment action, when a large number of the coverages in the policy were non-maritime.
Although none of these cases is ground-breaking or controversial, they do give lawyers valuable clues as to the positions the federal courts will take regarding admiralty jurisdiction with in certain common types of cases.
Further description and commentary on these cases can be found here.
