Severson & Werson Submits Amicus Curiae Brief to United States Supreme Court in Support of Petitioner for Writ of Certiorari

(Last updated February 25, 2008)

In a case of national importance in the field of admiralty and maritime law, Severson & Werson attorneys Forrest Booth and Ryan C. Donlon argued to the United States Supreme Court that it should issue a writ of certiorari and accept review of a matter of first impression for the Court: whether a counterclaimant has a statutory and/or constitutional right to a jury trial in a declaratory relief action brought under the federal courts’ admiralty jurisdiction.

Severson’s amicus curiae brief, submitted on behalf of The Maritime Law Association of the United States, urged the Supreme Court to accept for review the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in In re Lockheed Martin Corporation, 503 F.3d 351 (4th Cir. 2007). There, the Fourth Circuit held that a counterclaimant policyholder, Lockheed Martin Corporation, had a right to demand a jury even though the plaintiff insurer, National Casualty Company, had brought its declaratory relief action within the district court’s admiralty jurisdiction.

This case, National Casualty Company v. Lockheed Martin Corporation, U.S. Supreme Court Docket No. 07-948, if certiorari is granted, will likely resolve an existing split of circuit court authorities. A copy of the amicus curiae brief can be found at http://www.severson.com/publications/pdf/Maritime_Law_Association_Amicus_Brief.pdf.

Severson & Werson’s Admiralty Practice Group has over 50 years cumulative experience in litigating all types of maritime claims. Its specialty is representing insurance underwriters in defense and coverage actions, and its members have helped resolve cases arising from casualties the world over, from California to Myanmar, Australia to Alaska, and many points in between.