Opinion ID: 2674842
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Potential Effect on Maritime Commerce

Text: In assessing the potential effect of this type of incident on maritime commerce, we begin by describing the incident “at an intermediate level of possible generality.” Grubart, 513 U.S. at 538. Our description should be general enough to capture the possible effects of similar incidents on maritime commerce, but specific enough to exclude irrelevant cases. We then determine whether that type of incident is “likely to disrupt [maritime] commercial activity.” Id. (quoting Sisson, 497 U.S. at 363). In so doing, we look not to the particular facts of the case before us—i.e., whether maritime commerce was actually disrupted here—but to whether similar occurrences are likely to be disruptive. The overall purpose of the exercise is to determine “whether the incident could be seen within a class of incidents that pose[] more than a fanciful risk to commercial shipping.” Id. at 539. We conclude that the incident at issue in this case is best described as a physical altercation among recreational visitors on and around a permanent dock surrounded by navigable water. This description accurately captures the nature of the event giving rise to this suit, and the type of risks that the incident could 25 pose to maritime commerce. Like the descriptions the Court has used in its cases, our description focuses on the direct and immediate cause of the injuries suffered, rather than the alleged negligence underlying the suit. See Grubart, 513 U.S. at 538–39 (considering “damage by a vessel in navigable water to an underwater structure”); Sisson, 497 U.S. at 362–63 (considering “a fire on a vessel docked at a marina on navigable waters”). It also takes into account the general location of the incident and the roles of the persons involved, both of which can be relevant to the potential effect on maritime commerce. See Sisson, 497 U.S. at 363 (including in its description the general location of the fire); Vasquez, 582 F.3d at 300 (describing the type of incident as “the death of persons repairing and refitting a vessel” (emphasis added)). We conclude that this type of incident does not realistically pose a threat to maritime commerce. First, a fistfight on and around a dock cannot immediately disrupt navigation. Unlike a sinking plane (as in Executive Jet), a collision between vessels (as in Foremost), or a collision between a vessel and an underwater structure (as in Grubart), it does not create any obstruction to the free passage of commercial ships along navigable waterways. Nor can it lead to a disruption in the course of the waterway itself. See Grubart, 513 U.S. at 539. 26 Second, a fistfight on a dock cannot immediately damage nearby commercial vessels. The fire considered in Sisson threatened the safety of all other boats nearby; a fistfight threatens only its participants. As the district court correctly pointed out, “[a] fight is unlikely to spread the entire length of a dock, as a fire would, and, therefore, there is little risk that a fight would make the marina inaccessible or impact other boats.” J.A. 130. Third, the class of incidents we consider here includes only fights on permanent docks—that is, docks that are connected in a permanent fashion to the land underneath or beside navigable water, and that do not move relative to the shore (except perhaps by rising and falling with the tide). This type of incident does not pose the same risks to maritime commerce as a fistfight occurring on a vessel on navigable water. A fight on a vessel may distract the crew from their duties, endangering the safety of the vessel and risking collision with others on the same waterway. If a fight injures someone on a vessel that is at sea, moreover, that vessel may be forced to divert from its course to obtain medical care for the injured person. By contrast, a fistfight on a permanent dock does not endanger the safety of the dock itself or risk a collision between that dock and nearby vessels. And it obviously cannot require the dock to move or change course. 27 Fourth, the class of incidents we consider here involves only physical altercations among recreational visitors, not persons engaged in maritime employment. This type of incident therefore cannot have a potential effect on maritime commerce by injuring those who are employed in maritime commerce. Cf. Vasquez, 582 F.3d at 300 (holding there is “little question” that “the death of persons repairing and refitting a vessel” can potentially disrupt maritime commerce); Gruver v. Lesman Fisheries Inc., 489 F.3d 978, 982–83 (9th Cir. 2007) (finding a potential effect on maritime commerce from “an assault on a seaman by his former maritime employer aboard a vessel in navigable waters”); Coats v. Penrod Drilling Corp., 61 F.3d 1113, 1119 (5th Cir. 1995) (“Without a doubt, worker injuries, particularly to those involved in repair and maintenance, can have a disruptive impact on maritime commerce by stalling or delaying the primary activity of the vessel.”).7 7 There is a substantial difference for admiralty purposes between an occasional visitor or passenger on a vessel and a person whose employment revolves around that vessel. See Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis, 515 U.S. 347, 376 (1995) (defining a “seaman” for purposes of the Jones Act as an employee whose duties “contribute to the function of the vessel or to the accomplishment of its mission,” and whose “connection to a vessel in navigation . . . is substantial in terms of both its duration and its nature”). For instance, the duty of seaworthiness is owed only to seamen, not to passengers and visitors. See 1 Thomas J. Schoenbaum, Admiralty and Maritime Law, § 6‐27, at 501 (5th ed. 2011). Likewise, because the relation between seamen and their employers is central to maritime commerce, it is well established that federal admiralty jurisdiction extends 28 We therefore conclude that the type of incident involved here—a physical altercation among recreational visitors on and around a permanent dock surrounded by navigable water—presents no realistic threat to maritime commerce.