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Admiralty

The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.

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Great Lakes Ins. SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC (2024) 144 S. Ct. 637

Choice of law clauses in maritime contracts are presumptively enforceable as a matter of federal admiralty law just as forum selection clauses in those contracts are generally enforceable.  Choice of law clauses in maritime contracts are unenforceable only when they contravene a federal statute or conflict with established federal maritime policy or when the parties cannot furnish a reasonable basis… Read More

Ehart v. Lahaina Divers, Inc. (9th Cir. 2024) 92 F.4th 844

46 U.S.C. § 30527(a) provides that a owner "of a vessel transporting passengers between ports in the United States" cannot contract for a release of liability for negligently caused injiury or death due to the owner's or its employees' negligence.  This decision holds that the statute does not apply to forbid enforcement of a release obtained by the owner of… Read More