46 U.S.C. § 30906
Section 30906 · Venue
This is the Suits in Admiralty Act
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case J-Way Southern, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (2022)
Most recently applied in J-Way Southern, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (May 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.—A civil action under this chapter shall be brought in the district court of the United States for the district in which—
(1) any plaintiff resides or has its principal place of business; or
(2) the vessel or cargo is found.
(b) Transfer.—On a motion by a party, the court may transfer the action to any other district court of the United States.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 30906(a) 46 App.:742 (2d sentence). Mar. 9, 1920, ch. 95, §2 (2d, last sentences), 41 Stat. 526. 30906(b) 46 App.:742 (last sentence). In subsection (a)(1), the words “in the United States” are omitted as unnecessary.
In subsection (a)(2), the words “charged with liability” are omitted as unnecessary.
In subsection (b), the words “in the discretion of the court” are omitted as unnecessary. For general change of venue provision, see 28 U.S.C. 1404.