## Facts

- DeLovio filed a libel on a policy of marine insurance, seeking recovery for alleged losses covered by the policy.
- The policy insured a vessel against losses at sea and involved maritime risks connected to navigation and maritime commerce.
- The respondents filed a plea to the jurisdiction, contending that a marine insurance policy was not within federal admiralty jurisdiction.

## Issues

1. Whether a policy of marine insurance is a “maritime contract” within Article III and the Judiciary Act of 1789, permitting a federal district court to exercise admiralty jurisdiction over a libel on the policy.

## Decision

- The circuit court (Story, J.) overruled the jurisdictional plea.
- The court held that a policy of marine insurance is a maritime contract and therefore within admiralty jurisdiction.
- The court concluded the district court had admiralty jurisdiction and that dismissal for lack of such jurisdiction was erroneous.

## Legal Principles

- A policy of marine insurance is a maritime contract within admiralty and maritime jurisdiction.
- Federal admiralty jurisdiction extends to all maritime contracts, regardless of where made or performed and regardless of the form of the agreement, so long as the subject concerns maritime risks.
- Federal admiralty jurisdiction extends to maritime torts and injuries occurring on the high seas and within ports and harbors subject to tidal ebb and flow.
- The constitutional grant of jurisdiction over “all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction,” and Congress’s grant of jurisdiction over “all civil causes of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction,” support a broad federal admiralty competence not confined by restrictive English common-law limitations.

## Conclusion

The court held that marine insurance falls within federal admiralty jurisdiction because it is a maritime contract, and it rejected a restrictive view of admiralty power in favor of a broader constitutional and statutory understanding that covers maritime contracts and certain maritime torts tied to the sea and tidal waters.


DeLovio v. Boit, 7 F. Cas. 418 (C.C.D. Mass. 1815)