46 U.S.C. § 30903
Section 30903 · Waiver of immunity
This is the Suits in Admiralty Act
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 32 court decisions — leading case United States v. Park Place Associates, Ltd. (2009)
Most recently applied in Systems Application & Tech v. United States (February 2022)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) In General.—In a case in which, if a vessel were privately owned or operated, or if cargo were privately owned or possessed, or if a private person or property were involved, a civil action in admiralty could be maintained, a civil action in admiralty in personam may be brought against the United States or a federally-owned corporation. In a civil action in admiralty brought by the United States or a federally-owned corporation, an admiralty claim in personam may be filed or a setoff claimed against the United States or corporation.
(b) Non-Jury.—A claim against the United States or a federally-owned corporation under this section shall be tried without a jury.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 30903 46 App.:742 (1st, 3d sentences). Mar. 9, 1920, ch. 95, §2 (1st, 3d sentences), 41 Stat. 525; Pub. L. 86–770, §3, Sept. 13, 1960, 74 Stat. 912; Pub. L. 104–324, title XI, §1105, Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3967. In subsection (a), the words “civil action” are substituted for “proceeding” and “libel” because of rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (28 App. U.S.C.) and for consistency in the chapter. The words “civil action in admiralty in personam” are substituted for “any appropriate nonjury proceeding in personam” for clarity. The words “in rem or in personam in any district” are omitted as unnecessary. The words “admiralty claim” are substituted for “cross libel” for consistency in this chapter and with the various means of asserting a claim (such as by counterclaim or cross-claim) allowed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The words “with the same force and effect as if the libel had been filed by a private party” are omitted as unnecessary.
Subsection (b) is substituted for the word “nonjury” to clarify that the nonjury requirement applies to any claim against the United States or a federally-owned corporation under this section regardless of which party brings the action.