American Dredging Co. v. Miller

510 U.S. 443, 114 S. Ct. 981, 127 L. Ed. 2d 285 (1994)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
A
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

American Dredging Co. v. Miller

United States Supreme Court
510 U.S. 443, 114 S. Ct. 981, 127 L. Ed. 2d 285 (1994)

Facts

William Robert Miller (plaintiff) was injured while working on a tugboat owned by American Dredging Company (defendant) in the Delaware River. Miller sued American Dredging in Louisiana state court, requesting relief pursuant to both the Jones Act and general maritime law. The Jones Act, over which federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction, allows a seaman injured in the course of his employment to sue for damages. American Dredging moved to dismiss the case under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. The trial court granted the motion, reasoning that federal maritime law required it to apply the doctrine. The Louisiana Court of Appeal affirmed. The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed, holding that Louisiana state law made the doctrine of forum non conveniens unavailable in maritime cases filed in Louisiana courts and that federal maritime law did not preempt the state law. On appeal, American Dredging relied on Southern Pacific Co. v. Jensen, 244 U.S. 205 (1917), to support its argument that federal maritime law preempted Louisiana’s law. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Scalia, J.)

Concurrence (Stevens, J.)

Concurrence (Souter, J.)

Dissent (Kennedy, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 810,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Admiralty
Conflict of Laws

Key Terms