American Dredging Company v. William Robert Miller

Decided February 23, 1994. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-1950 · 510 U.S. 443 (1994) · Cited 620 times

Holding

In admiralty cases filed in a state court under the Jones Act and the “saving to suitors clause,” federal law does not pre-empt state law regarding the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen · 244 U.S. 205 (1916)
• Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert · 330 U.S. 501 (1947)
• Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno · 454 U.S. 235 (1981)
• Washington v. W. C. Dawson & Co. · 264 U.S. 219 (1924)
• Missouri Ex Rel. Southern Railway Co. v. Mayfield · 340 U.S. 1 (1950)
• Garrett v. Moore-McCormack Co. · 317 U.S. 239 (1942)
• Lochner v. New York · 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
• Kossick v. United Fruit Co. · 365 U.S. 731 (1961)
• Offshore Logistics, Inc. v. Tallentire · 477 U.S. 207 (1986)
• The Lottawanna · 88 U.S. 558 (1875)
• Red Cross Line v. Atlantic Fruit Co. · 264 U.S. 109 (1924)
• Canada Malting Co. v. Paterson Steamships, Ltd. · 285 U.S. 413 (1932)
• McAllister v. Magnolia Petroleum Co. · 357 U.S. 221 (1958)
• Helicopteros Nacionales De Colombia, S. A. v. Hall · 466 U.S. 408 (1984)
• Asahi Metal Industry Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., Solano Cty. · 480 U.S. 102 (1987)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Koster v. (American) Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. · 330 U.S. 518 (1947)
• Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co. · 358 U.S. 354 (1959)
• Pope & Talbot, Inc. v. Hawn · 346 U.S. 406 (1953)
• Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance · 348 U.S. 310 (1955)
• Chick Kam Choo v. Exxon Corp. · 486 U.S. 140 (1988)
• Kernan v. American Dredging Co. · 355 U.S. 426 (1958)
• Engel v. Davenport · 271 U.S. 33 (1926)
• Bendix Autolite Corp. v. Midwesco Enterprises, Inc. · 486 U.S. 888 (1988)
• Madruga v. Superior Court of Cal., County of San Diego · 346 U.S. 556 (1954)
• Cities Service Oil Co. v. Dunlap · 308 U.S. 208 (1939)
• The Maggie Hammond · 76 U.S. 435 (1870)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Sinochem International Co. v. Malaysia International Shipping Corp. · 549 U.S. 422 (2007)
• Quackenbush v. Allstate Insurance · 517 U.S. 706 (1996)
• Great Lakes Ins. SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co. · 601 U.S. 65 (2024)
• Schlup v. Delo · 513 U.S. 298 (1995)
• Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. · 513 U.S. 527 (1995)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries · 512 U.S. 267 (1994)
• Yamaha Motor Corp., USA v. Calhoun · 516 U.S. 199 (1996)
• Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. James N. Kirby, Pty Ltd. · 543 U.S. 14 (2004)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1994). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).