U.S. SUPREME COURT EXTENDS “SAVINGS TO SUITORS” RANGE

U.S. SUPREME COURT EXTENDS “SAVINGS TO SUITORS” RANGE

U.S. SUPREME COURT EXTENDS “SAVINGS TO SUITORS” RANGE

   In a rare venturing into maritime law, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that so long as a shipowner’s right to seek limitation of liability is protected, state courts may adjudicate personal injury claims filed by seamen.

   The high court said the “saving to suitors” clause in maritime contracts “preserves the full range of common law remedies, not just the right to a jury trial, as well as concurrent state court jurisdiction in most admiralty actions,” according to Dennis L. Bryant, an attorney with Haight Gardner Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C.