Yamaha Motor Corp., U. S. A. v. Calhoun

Summary

Justice Ginsburg delivered the unanimous opinion affirming the Third Circuit. The Court held that an interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) permits review of any issue fairly included within the certified order, not merely the question identified by the district court. On the merits, it held that state wrongful-death and survival remedies remain available for nonseafarers killed in territorial waters and were not displaced by the federal maritime wrongful-death action recognized in Moragne. Moragne expanded available relief rather than establishing an exclusive remedial ceiling. The Court left unresolved which jurisdiction’s state remedies applied and whether federal or state law supplied the liability standards. There were no separate opinions.