How Admiralty Jurisdiction Can Save You From Sovereign Immunity & The Board of Adjustment
July 3, 2007 by Robby Scott Hill · Leave a Comment
My office is 200 miles from the ocean. I don’t need to know Admiralty Law!
That’s what I thought until one of our clients was hit by an Alabama Marine Police Patrol Boat on the Alabama River. The State was claiming sovereign immunity and the case was headed straight for the Board of Adjustment until I recalled a footnote about admiralty law from my Civil Procedure textbook.
Admiralty Jurisdiction not only applies to “tidally influenced waters,” but it also encompasses “navigable waterways.” The special rules of admiralty prevent claims of sovereign immunity by all levels of the governmental marble cake, the federal, state, county and city governments cannot hide behind sovereign immunity when admiralty jurisdiction applies. Admiralty cases are matters of subject matter jurisdiction. So, any adverse judgment entered against your client in any other type of trial court is voidable for lack of competent jurisdiction. Res judicata will not bar a new action in admiralty. The drawback is that you do not get a jury trial as the admiralty rules prescribe a bench trial.
