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

516 U.S. 199 (1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Twelve-year-old Natalie Calhoun was killed in a jet ski accident at a beach-front resort in Puerto Rico. Ps sued D in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under Pennsylvania's wrongful death and survival statutes. Ps claimed negligence, strict liability, and breach of implied warranties. They sought damages for lost future earnings, loss of society, loss of support and services, and funeral expenses, as well as punitive damages. They grounded federal jurisdiction on both diversity of citizenship and admiralty law. D moved for partial summary judgment, arguing that the federal maritime wrongful-death action recognized in Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc. provided the exclusive basis for recovery, displacing all remedies afforded by state law. Under Moragne, Ps could recover as damages only Natalie's funeral expenses. The District Court agreed with D that Moragne's maritime death action displaced state remedies. The court held, however, that loss of society and loss of support and services were compensable under Moragne. P and D appealed. The questions of law certified to the Court of Appeals were whether pursuant to such a maritime cause of action, Ps may seek to recover (1) damages for the loss of the society of their deceased minor child, (2) damages for the loss of their child's future earnings, and (3) punitive damages.' The panel did not reach the questions presented and asked whether the state remedies endured or were 'displaced by a federal maritime rule of decision.' The Court of Appeals ruled that state-law remedies apply in the case. D appealed.