James F. Lewis v. Lewis & Clark Marine, Inc., Etc.

Decided February 21, 2001. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 99-1331 · 531 U.S. 438 (2001) · Cited 399 times

Holding

Because state courts may adjudicate claims like petitioner's against vessel owners so long as the owner's right to seek limitation of liability is protected, the Eighth Circuit erred in reversing the District Court's decision to dissolve the injunction.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Lake Tankers Corp. v. Henn · 354 U.S. 147 (1957)
• Norwich Co. v. Wright · 80 U.S. 104 (1872)
• Langnes v. Green · 282 U.S. 531 (1931)
• Red Cross Line v. Atlantic Fruit Co. · 264 U.S. 109 (1924)
• Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co. · 358 U.S. 354 (1959)
• Chelentis v. Luckenbach Steamship Co. · 247 U.S. 372 (1918)
• Ex Parte Green · 286 U.S. 437 (1932)
• Mitchell v. Trawler Racer, Inc. · 362 U.S. 539 (1960)
• Calmar Steamship Corp. v. Taylor · 303 U.S. 525 (1938)
• Just v. Chambers · 312 U.S. 383 (1941)
• Madruga v. Superior Court of Cal., County of San Diego · 346 U.S. 556 (1954)
• Providence & New York Steamship Co. v. Hill Manufacturing Co. · 109 U.S. 578 (1883)
• Steamboat Co. v. Chase · 83 U.S. 522 (1873)
• British Transport Commission v. United States · 354 U.S. 129 (1957)

Cited by

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

• Dutra Group v. Batterton · 588 U.S. 358 (2019)
• Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend · 557 U.S. 404 (2009)
• SEC v. Jarkesy · 603 U.S. 109 (2024)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2001). 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).