Admiralty Jurisdiction

Admiralty jurisdiction is the authority of federal courts over maritime cases, including injuries that happen on navigable waters and are connected to traditional maritime activity. When it applies, the case is generally governed by federal maritime law rather than state law, which can change the rules on duty, damages and defenses.

Origin

The U.S. Constitution extends federal judicial power to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, and Congress has given federal district courts jurisdiction over them since 1789. The Supreme Court's modern test asks about location (navigable waters, or a vessel on them) and about the incident's connection to maritime activity.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Many asbestos claimants were exposed aboard ships: Navy sailors, merchant mariners and shipyard workers who worked on vessels afloat. When the exposure meets the admiralty test, federal maritime law can apply even if the case is heard in state court, and that matters. Maritime law has its own product-liability rules; in 2019, in Air and Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, the Supreme Court held that under maritime law a manufacturer can have a duty to warn about asbestos parts added later to its product in some circumstances, cutting into the bare metal defense. Seamen may also have claims under the Jones Act and for unseaworthiness and maintenance and cure, while shipyard workers may fall under the Longshore Act. Whether a given exposure is maritime can be disputed: work aboard a ship in navigation often is, while land-based shipyard work may not be. Federal asbestos litigation also had a separate maritime docket for seamen's claims for many years.

Example Sentence

Because his exposure happened in the engine room of a Navy destroyer at sea, the court applied maritime law under its admiralty jurisdiction.

Related Terms

General Maritime Law, Jones Act, Unseaworthiness, Maintenance and Cure, Bare Metal Defense, Navy Veterans, Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Notes

• Gather service records, discharge papers and lists of ships and dates; they help show where the exposure happened.
• Say whether the work was done at sea, in port, in drydock or in a shop on land; the location can change which law applies.