Section 11.7 Procedural Consequences of Admiralty Jurisdiction

• Library: Tort Law 2016

D. (§11.7) Procedural Consequences of Admiralty Jurisdiction

There are several procedural factors that are unique to admiralty jurisdiction. An admiralty and maritime action brought in federal court is brought under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(h), which brings into play procedural rules unique to admiralty. An action that is only cognizable in admiralty is an admiralty or maritime matter for purposes of these unique rules, even if the action is not identified as an admiralty action.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 14(c), a defendant in an admiralty action has the option of bringing a third-party defendant into the case and asserting that the third-party defendant is directly liable to the plaintiff, rather than asserting that the third-party defendant’s liability is derivative of the defendant’s potential liability. The...