McDermott International, Inc. v. Jon C. Wilander

Decided February 19, 1991. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-1474 · 498 U.S. 337 (1991) · Cited 574 times

Holding

One need not aid in the navigation of a vessel in order to qualify as a "seaman" under the Jones Act.

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.

• South Chicago Coal & Dock Co. v. Bassett · 309 U.S. 251 (1940)
• The Osceola · 189 U.S. 158 (1903)
• International Stevedoring Co. v. Haverty · 272 U.S. 50 (1926)
• Senko v. LaCrosse Dredging Corp. · 352 U.S. 370 (1957)
• Chelentis v. Luckenbach Steamship Co. · 247 U.S. 372 (1918)
• Quinn v. United States · 349 U.S. 155 (1955)
• Warner v. Goltra · 293 U.S. 155 (1934)
• Butler v. Whiteman · 356 U.S. 271 (1958)
• Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. · 477 U.S. 242 (1986)
• Seas Shipping Co. v. Sieracki · 328 U.S. 85 (1946)
• Swanson v. Marra Brothers, Inc. · 328 U.S. 1 (1946)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• Pullman-Standard v. Swint · 456 U.S. 273 (1982)
• Miles v. Apex Marine Corp. · 498 U.S. 19 (1990)
• Jamison v. Encarnacion · 281 U.S. 635 (1930)
• The John G. Stevens · 170 U.S. 113 (1898)
• Gilbert v. United States · 370 U.S. 650 (1962)
• Desper v. Starved Rock Ferry Co. · 342 U.S. 187 (1952)

Cited by

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

• Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis · 515 U.S. 347 (1995)
• Southwest Marine, Inc. v. Gizoni · 502 U.S. 81 (1991)
• Harbor Tug & Barge Co. v. Papai · 520 U.S. 548 (1997)
• Stewart v. Dutra Construction Co. · 543 U.S. 481 (2005)
• Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon · 596 U.S. 450 (2022)
• Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC · 562 U.S. 223 (2011)
• DePierre v. United States · 564 U.S. 70 (2011)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). 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).