Case note. The Brother Jonathan decision: treasure salvor's 'actual possession' of shipwreck gives rise to federal jurisdiction for title claim

Abstract

The Supreme Court issued its decision in Spring 1998 in California and State Lands Commission v Deep Sea Research, Inc. making the noteworthy holding that treasure salvors that have 'actual possession' of shipwrecks located on a state's submerged lands will not be ousted from federal court jurisdiction on Eleventh Amendment immunity grounds. Calling into question the Supreme Court's previous opinion involving shipwreck litigation in Florida Dept. of State v. Treasure Salvors, Inc., decided in 1982, the Court has made clear that claims for title to such submerged artifacts can now be fully adjudicated in federal court. In making this significant ruling, and in redefining what constitutes a 'colorable claim' to title in shipwrecks under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, the Court resuscitated legal precedent that predates the 1865 sinking of shipwrecked Brother Jonathan.