United States Admiralty Law - Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Section 2 of Article III of the United States Constitution gives original jurisdiction in admiralty matters to the federal courts. The federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over most admiralty and maritime claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1333. Under this statute, federal district courts are granted original jurisdiction over admiralty actions "saving to suitors," a right to file suit for most of these actions in state court.

Despite the savings to suitors clause, certain actions are only permitted to be filed in admiralty in federal court. Those include all in rem maritime actions. This includes suits seeking forfeiture of ships to enforce maritime mortgages and liens, petitions to limit a shipowner's liability to the value of a ship after a major accident, and actions seeking to partition ownership of a ship. However, the vast majority of maritime actions, such as suits for damage to cargo, injuries to seamen, collisions between vessels, wake damage, and maritime pollution cases may be brought in either federal court or state court by virtue of the savings to suitors clause.

In federal courts in the United States, there is generally no right to a jury trial in admiralty cases. However, Congress has created some limited rights of jury trial in seamen's personal injury actions brought under the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (the Jones Act) where a jury trial is otherwise permitted. In state courts, the right to trial by jury is determined by the law of the state where the case is brought. Consequently, admiralty cases brought in state courts can be tried before a jury.