Earl Warren

“ Putting aside the fact that there is nothing to show that Congress ever contemplated such a 'jurisdictional' standard, replacing the straightforward 'admiralty jurisdiction' test by the unpredictable 'primarily of a maritime nature' rule is bound to introduce confusion and uncertainty into determinations of the appropriateness of a particular forum, the very type of question that should have a reasonably definitive answer. ”

“ On its face, the Tucker Act permits all individuals with contractual claims against the Government to sue in the Court of Claims. The Suits in Admiralty Act similarly affords an open berth in the district courts, provided the claims are of a maritime nature. The question is which Act should be applicable to the claims brought here, and this in turn depends on whether these seafaring petitioners are more appropriately classified as federal workers or as mere seamen. ”

“ The wage scale of government-employed seamen is fixed by federal agencies; it is not automatically adjusted to the rate of pay prevalent in private industry, and in some cases the private pay rates are not easily ascertained. Further, these government employees-unlike normal seamen-benefit from wage pay increases won in the private industry only prospectively and to a limited degree. Often in the maritime industry, private contract negotiations continue beyond the terminal date set in a collective bargaining agreement. ”

“ In 1960, an Act was passed to facilitate transfers of admiralty actions from the Court of Claims to the federal district courts and to toll the running of the statute of limitations in such cases so that litigants who sued, incorrectly, in the Court of Claims would not be required to file a new suit in the district court which might by then be time-barred. ”

“ Obviously these petitioners are both federal employees and seamen. One label refers to their employer; the other to the type of work they perform. This dual classification might well be made of the status of employees in many private industries. A large corporation might have thousands of employees, some of whom are employed in maritime activities. Because of the evolution of our legal system these maritime employees can sue their employer in an admiralty court as well as at law; their land-based co-workers do not have that option. ”

“ In effect, the Government asks us to repeal the former practice by implication. We have held in numerous cases that such a request bears a heavy burden of persuasion, e.g., Bulova Watch Co. v. United States, 365 U.S. 753, 758, 81 S.Ct. ”