## Facts

- In 1989, 12-year-old Natalie Calhoun was killed in a jet ski collision in territorial waters off Puerto Rico while riding a craft manufactured and distributed by Yamaha.
- Her parents sued Yamaha in federal court under diversity and admiralty jurisdiction, seeking damages under Pennsylvania wrongful-death and survival statutes.
- The complaint asserted negligence, strict products liability, and breach of implied warranties and sought damages including lost future earnings, loss of society, and punitive damages.
- Yamaha argued that because the death occurred on navigable waters, remedies were governed exclusively by general maritime law, including the maritime wrongful-death action recognized in *Moragne*.

## Issues

1. Whether, under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), a court of appeals may decide any question fairly included within the certified order, or is limited to the precise questions formulated by the district court.
2. Whether, when a nonseafarer dies in territorial waters and no federal statute specifies the relief, state wrongful-death and survival remedies are displaced by the judge-made maritime wrongful-death action recognized in *Moragne*.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed the Third Circuit.
- Under § 1292(b), the court of appeals may address any question fairly included within the certified order and is not confined to the district court’s phrasing of questions.
- In maritime wrongful-death cases involving nonseafarers in territorial waters, and absent a governing federal statute, state wrongful-death and survival remedies remain applicable and are not displaced by the maritime wrongful-death action recognized in *Moragne*.

## Legal Principles

- Interlocutory review under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) extends to the certified order; the appellate court may resolve any issue fairly included within that order.
- The general maritime wrongful-death action recognized in *Moragne* does not, by itself, preempt state wrongful-death and survival statutes for nonseafarer deaths in territorial waters when Congress has not prescribed the relevant remedial scheme.
- State remedies may operate alongside maritime law in territorial waters unless a federal statute governs or the state rule conflicts with basic maritime policies.

## Conclusion

The Court held that interlocutory appellate jurisdiction under § 1292(b) is order-based, and that for a nonseafarer’s death in territorial waters with no governing federal statute, state wrongful-death and survival statutes may provide remedies in addition to general maritime law.


Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. v. Calhoun, 516 U.S. 199 (1996)