Madruga v. Superior Court
United States Supreme Court
346 U.S. 556, 74 S.Ct. 298, 98 L.Ed. 290, 1954 AMC 405 (1954)

- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Nine individuals co-owned a vessel together. Eight of the co-owners (the majority co-owners) (plaintiffs), including Edward, Anthony, and Joseph Madruga, owned 85 percent of the vessel. Manuel Madruga (Manuel) (defendant) owned the remaining 15 percent. The majority co-owners sought to terminate the joint ownership of the vessel, but Manuel opposed the sale. The majority co-owners brought suit in California state court seeking the judicial sale of the vessel and partition of the proceeds. Manuel challenged the state court’s jurisdiction over the issues, alleging that the claim fell within admiralty jurisdiction and therefore could only be heard in federal district court. The state court decided that it had jurisdiction, and the California Supreme Court declined to issue a writ of prohibition against the proceedings. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider the jurisdiction issue.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Black, J.)
Dissent (Frankfurter, J.)
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