Cruise Ship Law

JOHN FERNANDEZ, III, Plaintiff, v. JAMES B. HAYNIE, etc., etal., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 4:00cv9
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, NEWPORT NEWS DIVISION
2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16807
November 14, 2000, Decided

OVERVIEW: Plaintiff allegedly contracted with defendant brokers to place and maintain with a solvent underwriter an insurance policy on plaintiff's shrimping vessel. Defendant brokers delivered a marine insurance policy to plaintiff and the vessel. However, defendant brokers allegedly switched plaintiff's insurance coverage to a new policy with a different insurer. A seaman suffered injuries on board plaintiff's vessel and sued plaintiff. Plaintiff filed suit against defendants to redress losses incurred resultant to an alleged breach of the contract to procure and maintain marine insurance. The court denied defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court determined that the action on an alleged contract to procure marine insurance was within the grant of admiralty jurisdiction to the federal courts. The subject matter of the alleged contract between plaintiff and defendant brokers was maritime in nature, and jurisdiction over the claim was consistent with the protection of maritime commerce, thus satisfying the jurisdictional inquiry for maritime contracts.
OUTCOME: Defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction was denied because the court had admiralty jurisdiction over the alleged contract to procure marine insurance.