State Civil Procedure in the Shadow of the Oar of Admiralty

Korman v. Princess Cruise Lines, No. B290681 (D2d4 Feb. 14, 2019)

This is kind of interesting. Admiralty law is basically a body of federal common law. So it makes sense that, under 28 U.S.C. § 1333, federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction in admiralty cases. But that statute also has language—something called the “saving to suitors” clause—that has been read to preserve concurrent state court jurisdiction for in personam (but not in rem) admiralty cases. And while there’s some debate, many courts—including the Ninth Circuit—say the savings to suitors clause creates a procedural, but not a jurisdictional, bar to removal of admiralty cases to federal court if there’s not an independent basis for federal subject matter jurisdiction. See Morris v. Princess Cruises, Inc., 236 F.3d 1061, 1069 (9th Cir. 2001).