Court Opinion

ID: 9942564
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Date Created: 2024-02-21 16:03:11.079497+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:48:14.830727
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(Slip Opinion)              OCTOBER TERM, 2023                                       1

                                       Syllabus

         NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is
       being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued.
       The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been
       prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.
       See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

                                       Syllabus

GREAT LAKES INSURANCE SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT
              REALTY CO., LLC

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR
                  THE THIRD CIRCUIT

  No. 22–500.      Argued October 10, 2023—Decided February 21, 2024
Great Lakes Insurance and Raiders Retreat Realty Co. entered a mari-
  time insurance contract. Great Lakes was organized in Germany and
  headquartered in the United Kingdom, and Raiders was headquar-
  tered in Pennsylvania. The parties’ contract selected New York law to
  govern any future disputes. Raiders’ boat subsequently ran aground
  in Florida. Great Lakes denied coverage for the accident and filed a
  related declaratory judgment action in the U. S. District Court for the
  Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Raiders responded by advancing
  contract claims against Great Lakes under Pennsylvania law. The
  District Court enforced the choice-of-law provision in the parties’ con-
  tract and rejected Raiders’ Pennsylvania-law contract claims. The
  Third Circuit recognized the presumptive validity and enforceability
  of choice-of-law provisions in maritime contracts, but held that pre-
  sumption must yield to a strong public policy of the State where a suit
  is brought. The Third Circuit remanded for the District Court to con-
  sider whether applying New York law would violate Pennsylvania’s
  public policy regarding insurance.
Held: Choice-of-law provisions in maritime contracts are presumptively
 enforceable under federal maritime law, with narrow exceptions not
 applicable here. Pp. 3–13.
    (a) Article III’s grant of federal jurisdiction to “all Cases of admi-
 ralty and maritime Jurisdiction,” §2, cl. 1, contemplates a uniform sys-
 tem of maritime law across the country, see Norfolk Southern R. Co. v.
 James N. Kirby, Pty Ltd., 543 U. S. 14, 28, to promote interests of nav-
 igation, commerce, and diplomatic relations. To maintain uniformity,
 federal courts “make decisional law” for maritime cases, id., at 23,
 based on sources including “judicial opinions, legislation, treatises,
2     GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                                  Syllabus

    and scholarly writings,” Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, 586
    U. S. 446, 452. Federal courts follow previously “established” mari-
    time rules, see Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 348 U. S.
    310, 314, and may create uniform maritime rules if no established rule
    exists. See, e.g., Norfolk Southern, 543 U. S., at 23. Pp. 3–10.
         (1) Longstanding precedent in both this Court and the Courts of
    Appeals establishes a federal maritime rule that choice-of-law provi-
    sions in maritime contracts are presumptively enforceable. In an anal-
    ogous context, the Court has pronounced that forum-selection clauses
    in maritime contracts are “prima facie valid” under federal maritime
    law and “should be enforced unless” doing so would be unreasonable.
    The Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U. S. 1, 10. Like choice-of-
    law provisions, forum-selection clauses have “the salutary effect of dis-
    pelling any confusion” on the manner for resolving future disputes,
    thereby slashing the “time and expense of pretrial motions.” Carnival
    Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U. S. 585, 593–594. The Court’s deci-
    sions on the enforceability of forum-selection clauses dictate the same
    conclusion for choice-of-law provisions. Pp. 4–6.
         (2) This Court’s decision in Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman’s Fund
    Insurance Co., 348 U. S. 310, does not hold otherwise. Wilburn Boat
    did not involve a choice-of-law provision, and held only that state law
    applied as a gap-filler in the absence of a uniform federal maritime
    rule on a warranty issue. Id., at 314–316. Where, as here, a uniform
    federal rule governs the enforceability of choice-of-law clauses in mar-
    itime contracts, no gap exists to be filled by state law. And while Wil-
    burn Boat referenced States’ traditional responsibility for regulating
    insurance, see id., at 316–319, preserving that responsibility does not
    speak to the concern addressed by a choice-of-law provision, namely,
    which state law applies in a given case. Nothing in Wilburn Boat pre-
    vented this Court in The Bremen and Carnival Cruise from concluding
    as a matter of federal maritime law that forum-selection clauses are
    presumptively enforceable. And contrary to Raiders’ suggestion, noth-
    ing in Wilburn Boat purports to override parties’ choice-of-law clauses
    in maritime contracts generally, or in the subset of marine insurance
    contracts specifically. Pp. 7–10.
       (b) Raiders does not claim any recognized exception to the presump-
    tive enforceability of choice-of-law clauses in maritime contracts.
    Raiders seeks an additional exception for situations where enforcing
    the law of the State designated by the contract would contravene the
    public policy of the State with the greatest interest in the dispute. But
    Raiders’ proposal lacks support in case law, and its application would
    undermine the fundamental purpose of choice-of-law clauses. Further,
    Raiders’ position would merely allow the substitution of one body of
    state law (the law of the State with the purported greatest interest in
                      Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)                      3

                                 Syllabus

  the matter) for another (the law of the State designated by a choice-of-
  law provision), a substitution no federal maritime interest supports.
  Finally, the Court rejects the suggestion to adopt the choice-of-law ap-
  proach set forth in §187(2)(b) of the Second Restatement of Conflict of
  Laws, as that rule arose out of interstate cases and does not deal di-
  rectly with federal-state conflicts, including those that arise in federal
  enclaves like maritime law. Pp. 10–13.
47 F. 4th 225, reversed.

   KAVANAUGH, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. THOMAS,
J., filed a concurring opinion.
                        Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)                              1

                             Opinion of the Court

     NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
     United States Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of
     Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D. C. 20543,
     pio@supremecourt.gov, of any typographical or other formal errors.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
                                   _________________

                                   No. 22–500
                                   _________________

GREAT LAKES INSURANCE SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT
              REALTY CO., LLC
 ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
            APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
                              [February 21, 2024]

  JUSTICE KAVANAUGH delivered the opinion of the Court.
  Maritime contracts often contain choice-of-law provisions
that designate the law of a particular jurisdiction to control
future disputes. The enforceability of those choice-of-law
provisions is governed by federal maritime law. Applying
federal maritime law in this case, we conclude that choice-
of-law provisions in maritime contracts are presumptively
enforceable, with certain narrow exceptions not applicable
here.
                              I
  To insure its boat, Raiders Retreat Realty, a
Pennsylvania business, purchased a policy from Great
Lakes Insurance, a company organized in Germany and
headquartered in the United Kingdom. The insurance
contract included a choice-of-law provision that, as relevant
here, selected New York law to govern future disputes
between the parties.
  Years later, Raiders’ boat ran aground near Fort
Lauderdale, Florida. After Raiders submitted an insurance
claim, Great Lakes denied coverage. Great Lakes asserted
that Raiders breached the insurance contract by failing to
maintain the boat’s fire-suppression system. According to
2   GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                     Opinion of the Court

Great Lakes, the breach voided the insurance contract in
its entirety, even though the boat’s fire-suppression system
did not contribute to the accident.
   Great Lakes sued Raiders for declaratory relief in the
U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania. Great Lakes alleged that Raiders breached
the insurance contract and that the breach allowed Great
Lakes to deny insurance coverage.
   In response, Raiders advanced contract claims under
Pennsylvania law.         Great Lakes countered that
Pennsylvania law did not apply to this dispute; rather, New
York law applied under the choice-of-law provision in the
parties’ insurance contract.
   The District Court agreed with Great Lakes. The court
reasoned that federal maritime law regards choice-of-law
provisions as presumptively valid and enforceable. 521
F. Supp. 3d 580, 585–586 (ED Pa. 2021). The court
therefore enforced the parties’ choice-of-law provision and
rejected Raiders’ Pennsylvania-law contract claims. Id., at
588–589.
   The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated
that judgment. 47 F. 4th 225 (2022). The Court of Appeals
held that choice-of-law provisions in maritime contracts are
presumptively enforceable as a matter of federal maritime
law, but nonetheless must yield to a strong public policy of
the State in which suit is brought—here, Pennsylvania’s
public policy regarding insurance. Id., at 230, 233. The
court remanded for the District Court to consider whether
applying New York contract law here would violate
Pennsylvania’s public policy and whether Pennsylvania law
therefore should apply. Id., at 233.
   This Court granted certiorari to resolve a split in the
Courts of Appeals regarding the enforceability of choice-of-
law provisions in maritime contracts. See 598 U. S. ___
(2023). Compare Great Lakes Ins. SE v. Raiders Retreat
Realty Co., LLC, 47 F. 4th, at 233, with Galilea, LLC v.
                  Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)              3

                      Opinion of the Court

AGCS Marine Ins. Co., 879 F. 3d 1052, 1060 (CA9 2018);
Stoot v. Fluor Drilling Servs., Inc., 851 F. 2d 1514, 1517
(CA5 1988).
                              II
   Under the Constitution, federal courts possess authority
to create and apply maritime law. Article III of the
Constitution extends the federal judicial power to “all Cases
of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction.” U. S. Const., Art.
III, § 2, cl. 1. That grant of jurisdiction contemplates a
system of maritime law “ ‘coextensive with, and operating
uniformly in, the whole country.’ ” Norfolk Southern R. Co.
v. James N. Kirby, Pty Ltd., 543 U. S. 14, 28 (2004) (quoting
American Dredging Co. v. Miller, 510 U. S. 443, 451 (1994)).
The purposes of that uniform system include promoting
“the great interests of navigation and commerce” and
maintaining the United States’ “diplomatic relations.” 3 J.
Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United
States §1666, p. 533 (1st ed. 1833); see also Norfolk
Southern, 543 U. S., at 28; Exxon Corp. v. Central Gulf
Lines, Inc., 500 U. S. 603, 608 (1991).
   To maintain that uniform system, federal courts “make
decisional law” for maritime cases. Norfolk Southern, 543
U. S., at 23. When a federal court decides a maritime case,
it acts as a “federal common law court, much as state courts
do in state common-law cases.” Air & Liquid Systems Corp.
v. DeVries, 586 U. S. 446, 452 (2019) (internal quotation
marks omitted); see Dutra Group v. Batterton, 588 U. S.
358, 360 (2019). “Subject to direction from Congress,” the
federal courts fashion maritime rules based on, among
other sources, “judicial opinions, legislation, treatises, and
scholarly writings.” Air & Liquid Systems, 586 U. S., at
452; see also Exxon Co., U. S. A. v. Sofec, Inc., 517 U. S. 830,
839 (1996); East River S. S. Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval
Inc., 476 U. S. 858, 864 (1986).
   Exercising that authority, federal courts follow
4   GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                      Opinion of the Court

previously “established” maritime rules. Wilburn Boat Co.
v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 348 U. S. 310, 314 (1955). No
bright line exists for determining when a federal maritime
rule is “established,” but a body of judicial decisions can
suffice. See Bisso v. Inland Waterways Corp., 349 U. S. 85,
89–90 (1955). In the absence of an established rule, federal
courts may create uniform maritime rules. See, e.g.,
Norfolk Southern, 543 U. S., at 23. When no established
rule exists, and when the federal courts decline to create a
new rule, federal courts apply state law. See Wilburn Boat,
348 U. S., at 320–321. For purposes of this general
overview, we will stop there, as the “issue of federalism in
admiralty and the scope of application of state law in
maritime cases is one of the most perplexing issues in the
law.” 1 T. Schoenbaum, Admiralty and Maritime Law §4:4,
p. 268 (6th ed. 2018).
                                A
   The initial question here is whether there is an
established federal maritime rule regarding the
enforceability of choice-of-law provisions. The answer is
yes.     Longstanding precedent establishes a federal
maritime rule:        Choice-of-law provisions in maritime
contracts are presumptively enforceable. As a leading
treatise says, it is “well established in admiralty that choice
of law clauses” will “normally be enforced.” 1 Schoenbaum,
Admiralty and Maritime Law §5:19, at 427; see also id.,
§4:4, at 275; 2 id., §19:6, at 431–432 (similar).
   Courts of Appeals have consistently decided that choice-
of-law provisions in maritime contracts are presumptively
enforceable as a matter of federal maritime law. See Great
Lakes Ins. SE v. Wave Cruiser LLC, 36 F. 4th 1346, 1353–
1354 (CA11 2022); Great Lakes Reins. (UK) PLC v. Durham
Auctions, Inc., 585 F. 3d 236, 242–243 (CA5 2009); Triton
Marine Fuels Ltd., S. A. v. M/V Pacific Chukotka, 575 F. 3d
409, 413 (CA4 2009); Chan v. Society Expeditions, Inc., 123
F. 3d 1287, 1296–1297 (CA9 1997); Milanovich v. Costa
                 Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)           5

                     Opinion of the Court

Crociere, S. p. A., 954 F. 2d 763, 768 (CADC 1992).
   Although no recent case of this Court has addressed the
issue, the Court has traditionally enforced choice-of-law
provisions in maritime contracts.          The Court has
recognized, for example, that the parties to a maritime
contract may select the governing law by “clearly
manifest[ing]” an intent to follow that law “when entering
into the contract.” Liverpool & Great Western Steam Co. v.
Phenix Ins. Co., 129 U. S. 397, 458 (1889); see also The
Kensington, 183 U. S. 263, 269 (1902). The Court has stated
that “it is no injustice” to resolve disputes under the law
that parties have “agreed to be bound by.” London
Assurance v. Companhia de Moagens do Barreiro, 167 U. S.
149, 161 (1897). As the Court further opined in 1953:
“Except as forbidden by some public policy, the tendency of
the law is to apply in contract matters the law which the
parties intended to apply.” Lauritzen v. Larsen, 345 U. S.
571, 588–589 (1953).
  The Court’s traditional enforcement of choice-of-law
provisions in maritime contracts corresponds to the Court’s
precedents in the analogous forum-selection context. The
Court has pronounced that forum-selection clauses in
maritime contracts are “prima facie valid” under federal
maritime law and “should be enforced unless” doing so
would be “ ‘unreasonable’ under the circumstances.” The
Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U. S. 1, 10 (1972); see
also Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U. S. 585,
593–594 (1991). Like choice-of-law provisions, forum-
selection clauses respect “ancient concepts of freedom of
contract.” The Bremen, 407 U. S., at 11. And like choice-
of-law provisions, forum-selection clauses have “the
salutary effect of dispelling any confusion” on the manner
for resolving future disputes, thereby slashing the “time
and expense of pretrial motions.” Carnival Cruise, 499
U. S., at 593–594.
6   GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                     Opinion of the Court

  For those reasons, as Courts of Appeals have explained,
this Court’s decisions in The Bremen and Carnival Cruise
on the enforceability of forum-selection clauses dictate the
same conclusion for choice-of-law provisions. See, e.g.,
Milanovich, 954 F. 2d, at 768. That is especially true given
that courts historically have expressed more skepticism of
forum-selection clauses than of choice-of-law clauses
because forum-selection clauses can force parties to litigate
in inconvenient places. See The Bremen, 407 U. S., at 9; 6
S. Williston, Law of Contracts §1725 (rev. ed. 1938).
  As courts and commentators have recognized, the
presumption of enforceability for choice-of-law provisions in
maritime contracts facilitates maritime commerce by
reducing uncertainty and lowering costs for maritime
actors.    Maritime commerce traverses interstate and
international boundaries, so when a maritime accident or
dispute occurs, time-consuming and difficult questions can
arise about which law governs. Choice-of-law provisions
“reduce legal uncertainty.” J. Coyle, The Canons of
Construction for Choice-of-Law Clauses, 92 Wash. L. Rev.
631, 633, n. 6 (2017). By identifying the governing law in
advance, choice-of-law provisions allow parties to avoid
later disputes—as well as ensuing litigation and its
attendant costs. Cf. Carnival Cruise, 499 U. S., at 593–594.
Choice-of-law provisions also discourage forum shopping,
further cutting the costs of litigation.
  Moreover, by supplying some advance assurance about
the governing law, choice-of-law provisions help maritime
shippers decide on the front end “what precautions to take”
on their boats, American Dredging, 510 U. S., at 454, and
enable marine insurers to better assess risk, see Brief for
American Institute of Marine Underwriters et al. as Amici
Curiae 12–13. Choice-of-law provisions therefore can lower
the price and expand the availability of marine insurance.
In those ways, choice-of-law provisions advance a
fundamental purpose of federal maritime law: the
                  Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)            7

                      Opinion of the Court

“ ‘protection of maritime commerce.’ ” Exxon Corp., 500
U. S., at 608 (quoting Sisson v. Ruby, 497 U. S. 358, 367
(1990)).
                              B
   Raiders argues that no established federal maritime rule
governs the enforceability of choice-of-law provisions, and
it further contends that federal courts should assess those
provisions under state law. Raiders does not specify
whether it thinks that federal maritime law should
incorporate state law on this issue, or instead that state law
is not preempted by federal maritime law and applies of its
own force. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 52–53.
   In any event, Raiders argues that this Court’s 1955
decision in Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance
Co., 348 U. S. 310, precludes a uniform federal presumption
of enforceability for choice-of-law provisions in maritime
contracts. But that case did not involve a choice-of-law
provision.    Rather, the Wilburn Boat Court simply
determined what substantive rule applied when a party
breached a warranty in a marine insurance contract. See
id., at 311–316. The Court concluded that no “established
federal admiralty rule” governed the warranty issue. Id.,
at 314; see also id., at 314–316. And the Court declined to
create a federal maritime rule on that question, both
because States historically regulated insurance and
because federal courts were poorly positioned to “unify
insurance law on a nationwide basis.” Id., at 319; see also
id., at 316–320. The Court therefore ordered that the
warranty issue be tried “under appropriate state law.” Id.,
at 321.
   Great Lakes contends that Wilburn Boat’s reliance on
state law is in tension with the Court’s modern maritime
jurisprudence, which tends to place greater emphasis on
the need for uniformity in maritime law. See Norfolk
Southern, 543 U. S., at 28; Kossick v. United Fruit Co., 365
8   GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                     Opinion of the Court

U. S. 731, 741–742 (1961); see also American Dredging, 510
U. S., at 452–453 (noting tension between Wilburn Boat and
Kossick); Wilburn Boat, 348 U. S., at 322, 324 (Frankfurter,
J., concurring in result) (arguing that Wilburn Boat should
“not be found controlling” in the future beyond the case’s
“essentially localized” facts).
   But here, we need not resolve any such tension because
Wilburn Boat does not control the analysis of choice-of-law
provisions in maritime contracts. To reiterate, Wilburn
Boat did not involve a choice-of-law provision, and the case
therefore affords limited guidance on that distinct issue.
Moreover, Wilburn Boat held only that state law applied as
a gap-filler in the absence of a uniform federal maritime
rule on a warranty issue. 348 U. S., at 314–316. Here,
however, no gap exists because a uniform federal rule
governs the enforceability of choice-of-law clauses in
maritime contracts.
   In addition, Wilburn Boat rested in part on the difficulty
of creating substantive maritime insurance law from
scratch through case-by-case adjudication. See id., at 319–
320. That concern is absent when the question is whether
the parties may choose the governing law to apply. Wilburn
Boat also cited States’ traditional responsibility for
regulating insurance. See id., at 316–319. But preserving
that responsibility does not speak to which state law
applies in a given case, which is what a choice-of-law
provision addresses. Finally, Wilburn Boat did not prevent
this Court in The Bremen and Carnival Cruise from
concluding as a matter of federal maritime law that forum-
selection clauses are presumptively enforceable. For all of
those reasons, Wilburn Boat does not preclude a uniform
federal presumption of enforceability for choice-of-law
provisions in maritime contracts.
   Raiders suggests that even if federal maritime law
presumes the enforceability of choice-of-law provisions in
maritime contracts, Wilburn Boat recognized a kind of
                 Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)            9

                     Opinion of the Court

“insurance exceptionalism” where this Court will apply
state law in marine insurance cases. Tr. of Oral Arg. 45.
We disagree. Nothing in Wilburn Boat purports to override
parties’ choice-of-law clauses in maritime contracts
generally, or in the subset of marine insurance contracts
specifically.
  Moreover, in the forum-selection context, The Bremen
and Carnival Cruise apply to marine insurance contracts as
well as to other maritime contracts. See Carnival Cruise,
499 U. S., at 593–595; The Bremen, 407 U. S., at 10–14. We
discern no good reason for a different rule in the choice-of-
law context. Indeed, the uniformity and predictability
resulting from choice-of-law provisions are especially
important for marine insurance contracts given that
marine insurance is “an integral part of virtually every
maritime transaction, and maritime commerce is a vital
part of the nation’s economy.” M. Sturley, Restating the
Law of Marine Insurance: A Workable Solution to the
Wilburn Boat Problem, 29 J. Mar. L. & Com. 41, 45 (1998).
  In applying maritime rules, we also may assess whether
our decision produces an “equitable result.” Norfolk
Southern, 543 U. S., at 35.        In considering Raiders’
argument for applying state law, it bears recalling Wilburn
Boat’s aftermath in maritime law and the maritime
industry. See G. Gilmore & C. Black, Law of Admiralty
§§1–17, 2–8 (2d ed. 1975). After Wilburn Boat, maritime
actors realized that a lot would depend on which State’s law
governed each individual maritime dispute—a question
that would be unclear in advance. See 2 Schoenbaum,
Admiralty and Maritime Law §19:9.              Choice-of-law
provisions soon emerged as a ready answer to that problem.
See W. von Bittner, The Validity and Effect of Choice of Law
Clauses in Marine Insurance Contracts, 53 Ins. Counsel J.
573, 573, 578–579 (1986). And particularly since The
Bremen resolved the analogous forum-selection issue in
1972, most maritime actors have justifiably believed that
10 GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                     Opinion of the Court

choice-of-law provisions are presumptively enforceable as a
matter of federal maritime law. See 1 Schoenbaum,
Admiralty and Maritime Law §5:19, at 427.               That
widespread understanding is correct, and Raiders’
argument for disrupting that longstanding consensus is
essentially a solution in search of a problem.
  The bottom line: As a matter of federal maritime law,
choice-of-law provisions in maritime contracts are
presumptively enforceable.
                              III
  Of course, to say that choice-of-law clauses are
presumptively enforceable as a matter of federal maritime
law means that there are exceptions when the clauses are
not enforceable. The parties agree that the exceptions are
narrow—indeed, Raiders “freely concede[s] that in most
every instance, a choice-of-law provision contained in a
maritime insurance contract will be effective.” Tr. of Oral
Arg. 54.
  In particular, the parties agree that courts should
disregard choice-of-law clauses in otherwise valid maritime
contracts when the chosen law would contravene a
controlling federal statute, see Knott v. Botany Mills, 179
U. S. 69, 77 (1900), or conflict with an established federal
maritime policy, see The Kensington, 183 U. S. 263, 269–
271 (1902). For example, The Kensington declined to
enforce a choice-of-law clause because the chosen law would
have released a carrier from liability for negligence—a
result that federal maritime law forbids. See ibid.
  The parties further agree that, as a matter of federal
maritime law, courts may disregard choice-of-law clauses
when parties can furnish no reasonable basis for the chosen
jurisdiction. Cf. Carnival Cruise, 499 U. S., at 594–595; The
Bremen, 407 U. S., at 10, 16–17. For example, it would be
unreasonable to pick the law of a distant foreign country
without some rational basis for doing so. That said, the “no
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                     Opinion of the Court

reasonable basis” exception must be applied with
substantial deference to the contracting parties,
recognizing that maritime actors may sometimes choose the
law of a specific jurisdiction because, for example, that
jurisdiction’s law is “well developed, well known, and well
regarded.”      Brief for American Institute of Marine
Underwriters et al. as Amici Curiae 17.
   Raiders does not claim that either of those exceptions
applies here. To be specific, Raiders does not assert that
any federal statute or established federal maritime policy
precludes enforcing the parties’ choice-of-law provision.
And Raiders does not claim that the parties’ choice of New
York’s “well-known and highly elaborated commercial law”
was unreasonable. Restatement (Second) of Conflict of
Laws §187, Comment f, p. 567 (1969); see also The Bremen,
407 U. S., at 13 (approving the choice of a “neutral forum”).
   Unable to successfully invoke those exceptions, Raiders
says that federal maritime law should recognize an
additional exception when enforcing the law of the State
designated by the contract would contravene the
fundamental public policy of the State with the greatest
interest in the dispute. We disagree with that argument.
Indeed, Raiders’ request for that novel maritime exception
is essentially a repackaged version of its initial argument
that the enforceability of choice-of-law provisions in
maritime contracts should be determined by state law. The
argument fares no better here, for essentially the same
reasons.
   A federal presumption of enforceability would not be
much of a presumption if it could be routinely swept aside
based on 50 States’ public policy determinations. The
ensuing disuniformity and uncertainty caused by such an
approach would undermine the fundamental purpose of
choice-of-law clauses in maritime contracts: uniform and
stable rules for maritime actors. See supra, at 4–7;
Carnival Cruise, 499 U. S., at 593–594; The Bremen, 407
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                      Opinion of the Court

U. S., at 13–14.
   Raiders’ proposed exception also lacks historical roots.
This Court has never discarded a choice-of-law provision in
a maritime contract on the ground that enforcement of the
choice-of-law provision would violate state law. On the
contrary, the Court has enforced those clauses without so
much as mentioning state law. See, e.g., London Assurance,
167 U. S., at 161; see also Siegelman v. Cunard White Star
Ltd., 221 F. 2d 189, 193, 195 (CA2 1955) (Harlan, J.).
   Nor has the Court looked to state law in the analogous
forum-selection context. Raiders points to a sentence in
The Bremen stating that a “contractual choice-of-forum
clause should be held unenforceable if enforcement would
contravene a strong public policy of the forum in which suit
is brought.” 407 U. S., at 15. But that sentence, read in
context, was referring to the possibility of a conflict between
federal maritime law and a foreign country’s law—there,
England’s. See ibid. State law was not relevant to the case.
The Bremen said nothing about the law or public policy of
Florida. See id., at 9–20. Carnival Cruise likewise said
nothing about the law or public policy of Washington. See
499 U. S., at 590–595.
   Raiders’ position similarly finds no footing in the
decisions of the Courts of Appeals. The opinion of the Third
Circuit in this case is the first by a Federal Court of Appeals
to hold that a State’s strong public policy may justify
disregarding a maritime choice-of-law clause.
   The lack of case law supporting Raiders’ state-law
argument comes as no surprise given that Raiders’ position
would merely allow the substitution of one body of state law
(the law of the State with the purported greatest interest in
the matter) for another (the law of the State designated by
a choice-of-law provision).           As Raiders seems to
acknowledge, federal maritime law offers no reason to
categorically prefer the law of one State over another State.
See Brief for Respondent 41–42. Here, for example, no
                  Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)                 13

                      Opinion of the Court

federal maritime interest supports applying Pennsylvania
law rather than New York law.
   For the same reasons, we disagree with Raiders’ related
suggestion that we adopt the choice-of-law approach set
forth in §187(2)(b) of the Second Restatement of Conflict of
Laws. In relevant part, that subsection says that choice-of-
law provisions are enforceable unless they conflict with “a
fundamental policy of a state which has a materially
greater interest than the chosen state in the determination
of the particular issue.” Restatement (Second) of Conflict
of Laws §187(2)(b). As the commentary to the Restatement
carefully explains, however, that rule arose out of interstate
cases and does not deal directly with federal-state conflicts,
including those that arise in federal enclaves like maritime
law. See id. §2, Comment c; §3, Comment d; §10, Comment
a. For reasons already stated, that Restatement rule is a
poor fit for maritime cases. It would operate like a general
exception for state law that would prevent maritime actors
from prospectively identifying the law to govern future
disputes. The §187(2)(b) exception would require parties to
litigate which State possesses the “materially greater
interest” in the dispute, and thereby create significant
uncertainty. As explained above, no federal maritime
interest favors injecting that kind of disuniformity and
unpredictability into maritime commerce. We therefore
decline to adopt §187(2)(b) for federal maritime law.
                          *   *    *
   In sum, choice-of-law provisions in maritime contracts
are presumptively enforceable as a matter of federal
maritime law, with certain narrow exceptions, and no
exception to the presumption applies in this case. We
reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

                                                   It is so ordered.
                  Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)             1

                     THOMAS, J., concurring

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
                          _________________

                           No. 22–500
                          _________________

GREAT LAKES INSURANCE SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT
              REALTY CO., LLC
 ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
            APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
                      [February 21, 2024]

   JUSTICE THOMAS, concurring.
   I join the Court’s opinion in full because it correctly con-
cludes that federal maritime law governs the enforceability
of choice-of-law provisions in maritime contracts. In argu-
ing that state law should govern, Raiders Retreat Realty
relies principally on this Court’s decision in Wilburn Boat
Co. v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 348 U. S. 310 (1955). I write
separately to highlight how Wilburn Boat rests on flawed
premises and, more broadly, how the decision is at odds
with the fundamental precept of admiralty law. This Court
has already retreated from Wilburn Boat’s unsound hold-
ing, limiting it to local disputes. Litigants and courts ap-
plying Wilburn Boat in the future should not ignore these
developments.
   The Constitution extends the judicial power to “all Cases
of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction.” Art. III, §2, cl. 1.
We have long understood this grant of jurisdiction to estab-
lish a uniform body of substantive law called the general
maritime law. See Knickerbocker Ice Co. v. Stewart, 253
U. S. 149, 160–161 (1920); The Lottawanna, 21 Wall. 558,
575 (1875). For almost 150 years before Wilburn Boat, it
was well established that marine-insurance disputes fell
within that admiralty jurisdiction. See Insurance Co. v.
Dunham, 11 Wall. 1, 35 (1871); DeLovio v. Boit, 7 F. Cas.
418, 444 (No. 3,776) (CC Mass. 1815) (Story, J.). And, it
2   GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                    THOMAS, J., concurring

was widely accepted that courts applied general maritime
law in such disputes as a result. See Watts v. Camors, 115
U. S. 353, 362 (1885). Wilburn Boat upset this understand-
ing by inviting courts to apply state law in a broad range of
marine-insurance disputes. That break from settled prac-
tice was unwarranted.
   Wilburn Boat involved an insurance claim on a small
houseboat that was destroyed by fire while moored in Lake
Texoma, an artificial inland lake. 348 U. S., at 311. The
houseboat’s owner conceded that he breached the marine-
insurance policy’s express warranty limiting his use to pri-
vate pleasure by carrying passengers for hire. Ibid. Even
though that breach was unrelated to the fire, the insurer
declined coverage on breach-of-warranty grounds, arguing
that federal maritime law requires literal compliance with
express warranties and that any breach thus releases the
insurer from liability. See id., at 311–312. The owner coun-
tered that Texas law—not federal maritime law—should
determine the consequences of a breach of warranty, and
that breaching the private-pleasure warranty would not
justify denying coverage under Texas law. Id., at 312. To
resolve this choice-of-law dispute, the Court posed two
questions: “(1) Is there a judicially established federal ad-
miralty rule governing these warranties? (2) If not, should
we fashion one?” Id., at 314. Answering both questions in
the negative, this Court concluded that state law governs
the effect of a breach of warranty in a marine-insurance pol-
icy. Id., at 316, 320–321.
   Wilburn Boat’s rationale is deeply flawed. The Court’s
first conclusion, that there was no established federal ad-
miralty rule requiring literal compliance with express war-
ranties, is indefensible. See id., at 314–316. Treatises from
the early 19th century to the 20th century recognized the
literal compliance rule as part of the general maritime law
governing marine insurance. See, e.g., 2 R. Simey & G.
Mitchison, Arnould on the Law of Marine Insurance and
                  Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)            3

                     THOMAS, J., concurring

Average §635, p. 863 (12th ed. 1939); 2 T. Parsons, Mari-
time Law 104–105 (1859); 1 J. Park, A System of the Law
of Marine Insurances 422 (6th ed. 1809); J. Burn, Law of
Marine Insurances 80 (1801). By the time of Wilburn Boat,
at least five Courts of Appeals had applied that rule in ma-
rine-insurance cases. See, e.g., Home Ins. Co. v. Ciconett,
179 F. 2d 892, 894 (CA6 1950); Robinson v. Home Ins. Co.,
73 F. 2d 3, 4 (CA5 1934); Aetna Ins. Co. v. Houston Oil &
Transp. Co., 49 F. 2d 121, 124 (CA5 1931); Fidelity-
Phenix Ins. Co. v. Chicago Title & Trust Co., 12 F. 2d 573,
574 (CA7 1926); Shamrock Towing Co. v. American Ins. Co.,
9 F. 2d 57, 60 (CA2 1925); Canton Ins. Office v. Independent
Transp. Co., 217 F. 213, 217 (CA9 1914). And, as Justice
Reed highlighted in dissent, “[n]o case h[eld] to the con-
trary.” Wilburn Boat, 348 U. S., at 326.
   The Court’s only rejoinder was that some Court of Ap-
peals decisions may have drawn the literal compliance rule
from state or general common law, rather than general
maritime law. Id., at 315. Even so, the Court never ex-
plained why the two decisions that identified general mari-
time law as the source of the literal compliance rule were
not enough to “establish” a federal admiralty rule. See
Home Ins. Co., 179 F. 2d, at 894; Aetna Ins. Co., 49 F. 2d, at
124. Nor did it grapple with the seemingly universal en-
dorsement of the rule in marine-insurance treatises. See
Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, 586 U. S. 446, 452
(2019) (“In formulating federal maritime law, the federal
courts may examine, among other sources, judicial opin-
ions, legislation, treatises, and scholarly writings”). At any
rate, that some decisions were not explicit about the source
of the literal compliance rule is unsurprising given the com-
mon understanding that general maritime law applied in
admiralty cases. See Watts, 115 U. S., at 362. And, it is
telling that many of those decisions rely on the classic ma-
rine-insurance treatise, Arnould on Marine Insurance. See
Robinson, 73 F. 2d, at 4; Fidelity-Phenix, 12 F. 2d, at 574;
4   GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                     THOMAS, J., concurring

Shamrock Towing, 9 F. 2d, at 60; Canton, 217 F., at 217. In
short, at the time of Wilburn Boat, the existence of an es-
tablished federal maritime rule addressing the effect of a
breach of warranty could not plausibly be questioned.
   The Wilburn Boat Court’s justification for not creating a
federal admiralty rule is equally problematic. It reasoned
that general insurance regulation is an area that histori-
cally has been left to the States and that courts are ill suited
for crafting marine insurance law on a case-by-case basis.
See 348 U. S., at 316–317, 319–320. The fact that States
have traditionally provided rules of decision for general in-
surance law is no reason to leave marine insurance law to
them. States have traditionally provided rules of decision
for general contract and tort law, yet federal courts con-
tinue to develop maritime law in those areas. See, e.g., Air
& Liquid Systems Corp., 586 U. S., at 453–455; Exxon Ship-
ping Co. v. Baker, 554 U. S. 471, 506–507 (2008); Norfolk
Southern R. Co. v. James N. Kirby, Pty Ltd., 543 U. S. 14,
33 (2004); Bisso v. Inland Waterways Corp., 349 U. S. 85,
90 (1955). The Wilburn Boat Court’s doubts about the abil-
ity of judges to craft marine-insurance rules on a case-by-
case basis is simply a critique of the common-law process.
But, federal courts exercising admiralty jurisdiction act as
common-law courts, Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 586 U. S.,
at 452, and the difficulties inherent in that role do not jus-
tify abandoning it.
   A noticeable deficiency of Wilburn Boat was its failure to
even acknowledge the uniformity principle—a singularly
important concept in admiralty law. We have long recog-
nized that the Constitution’s grant of admiralty jurisdiction
“referred to a system of law coextensive with, and operating
uniformly in, the whole country,” and empowered federal
courts to maintain that national system using a common-
law process. The Lottawanna, 21 Wall., at 575. Only a uni-
form system of maritime law, the Court has explained, can
ensure the “consistency at which the Constitution aimed on
                  Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)             5

                     THOMAS, J., concurring

all subjects of a commercial character affecting” interstate
and foreign commerce. Ibid. This need for uniformity has
been the “touchstone” for determining the scope of admi-
ralty jurisdiction and the extent to which state law can be
given effect in admiralty cases. Kirby, 543 U. S., at 28; see
also Kossick v. United Fruit Co., 365 U. S. 731, 741–742
(1961); Southern Pacific Co. v. Jensen, 244 U. S. 205, 216
(1917); DeLovio, 7 F. Cas., at 443. Notwithstanding this
settled principle, however, Wilburn Boat said nothing about
uniformity. It did not so much as consider whether a need
for uniformity required a federal rule on the effect of
breaching        an     express       warranty      in       a
marine-insurance contract. This silence is inexplicable
given that both Justice Frankfurter’s concurrence and Jus-
tice Reed’s dissent discussed uniformity at length. See 348
U. S., at 322–324 (Frankfurter, J., concurring in result); id.,
at 332–334 (Reed, J., dissenting). As Justice Reed la-
mented, “the Court’s decision strikes deep into the principle
of a uniform admiralty law,” and worse, it did so without
explaining why. Id., at 327.
   Unsurprisingly, Wilburn Boat has been met with univer-
sal criticism over the past 70 years. A mere two years after
the decision, the Nation’s foremost admiralty scholars
wrote a stinging critique in their treatise. See G. Gilmore
& C. Black, The Law of Admiralty 44–45, 62–63 (1957).
Wilburn Boat’s rationale, they explained, suggests that
state law provides the rule of decision “when it happens
that such cases have not presented themselves to the fed-
eral courts in such number or with the issues so posed as to
result in decision of the point involved.” Gilmore, Law of
Admiralty, at 62 (emphasis deleted). This, they concluded,
is “a nightmarish solution” because “[s]ome of the most im-
portant and obvious propositions in marine insurance law
are rarely litigated.” Id., at 62–63. One exhaustive study
of the opinion also concluded that Wilburn Boat “was poorly
reasoned and its holding poorly articulated.” J. Goldstein,
6   GREAT LAKES INS. SE v. RAIDERS RETREAT REALTY CO.

                         THOMAS, J., concurring

The Life and Times of Wilburn Boat: A Critical Guide (Part
I), 28 J. Mar. L. & Com. 395, 396 (1997). It explained that
Wilburn Boat did not “articulate any convincing theory of
the extent to which uniformity is a basic characteristic of
maritime law,” “showed little appreciation” for the Judici-
ary’s role in fashioning the general maritime law, and
“failed to produce a decision or analysis that would provide
guidance to the lower courts.” J. Goldstein, The Life and
Times of Wilburn Boat: A Critical Guide (Part II), 28 J. Mar.
L. & Com. 555, 591 (1997). And, a modern treatise explains
that “Wilburn Boat has (1) produced a ‘crazy-quilt’ pattern
of federal-state regulation of marine insurance; and
(2) bogged the courts down in complex and confusing choice-
of-law questions.” 2 T. Schoenbaum, Admiralty and Mari-
time Law §19:9, p. 438 (6th ed. 2018).*
   It is little wonder that this Court has retreated from Wil-
burn Boat in subsequent decisions, implicitly cabining its
reach to “localized” disputes in accordance with Justice
Frankfurter’s concurrence. See 348 U. S., at 322. In Kos-
sick, for example, this Court held that general maritime
law, not a state statute of frauds, governed the validity of a
shipowner’s oral contract with a seaman. 365 U. S., at 732–
733, 742. The Court attributed the decision in Wilburn

——————
   *Critiques of Wilburn Boat are too numerous to list comprehensively.
See, e.g., D. Robertson, S. Friedell, & M. Sturley, Admiralty and Mari-
time Law in the United States 465 (4th ed. 2020) (“For many informed
observers, Wilburn Boat is the Supreme Court’s most disappointing mar-
itime-law decision”); H. Watson, A Fifty Year Retrospective on the Amer-
ican Law of Marine Insurance, 91 Tulane L. Rev. 855, 857 (2017) (“Wil-
burn Boat has been the subject of relentless well-deserved criticism”); G.
Staring, Wilburn Boat is a Dead Letter: R. I. P., 42 J. Mar. L. & Com.
465, 468 (2011) (“Over a half century the decision has been repeatedly
criticized for its shallow erroneousness”); 1 A. Parks, The Law and Prac-
tice of Marine Insurance and Average 13 (1987) (“Wilburn cast the law
of marine insurance into a state of turmoil”); H. Baer, Admiralty Law of
the Supreme Court 389 (3d ed. 1979) (“The Wilburn Boat case has left
the admiralty bar in a state of utter confusion”).
                   Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2024)               7

                      THOMAS, J., concurring

Boat in part to the inherently local nature of its dispute
about “a contract of insurance on a houseboat established
in the waters of a small artificial lake.” 365 U. S., at 742.
Fifty years later, we endorsed this narrow reading of Wil-
burn Boat in Kirby, holding that general maritime law gov-
erned a maritime contract for the carriage of goods primar-
ily by sea. 543 U. S., at 18–19, 22–23. We explained that
“[w]hen a contract is a maritime one, and the dispute is not
inherently local, federal law controls the contract interpre-
tation.” Id., at 22–23. Today’s decision further erodes Wil-
burn Boat’s foundation, and rightly so. See ante, at 7–9.
   In light of these decisions, it is not clear what, if anything,
is left of Wilburn Boat’s rationale. Yet, Raiders and some
courts continue to understand Wilburn Boat to require ap-
plication of state law in circumstances far different from the
inherently local dispute at issue there. See, e.g., Travelers
Property Casualty Co. of Am. v. Ocean Reef Charters LLC,
996 F. 3d 1161, 1169–1170 (CA11 2021); In re Settoon Tow-
ing, 720 F. 3d 268, 282–284 (CA5 2013). But see Lloyd’s of
London v. Págan-Sánchez, 539 F. 3d 19, 24 (CA1 2008) (rec-
ognizing that Wilburn Boat applies only to “inherently lo-
cal” disputes (internal quotation marks omitted)). Liti-
gants and courts should heed our instruction that general
maritime law applies in maritime contract disputes unless
they “so implicate local interests as to beckon interpretation
by state law.” Kirby, 543 U. S., at 27. Wilburn Boat reaches
no further.