46 U.S.C. § 41301
Section 41301 · Complaints
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 17 court decisions — leading case Maryland Port Administration v. Premier Automotive Services, Inc. (2007)
Most recently applied in In re Vehicle Carrier Services Antitrust Litigation (January 2017)
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 person may file with the Federal Maritime Commission a sworn complaint alleging a violation of this part, except section 41307(b)(1). If the complaint is filed within 3 years after the claim accrues, the complainant may seek reparations for an injury to the complainant caused by the violation.
(b) Notice and Response.—The Commission shall provide a copy of the complaint to the person named in the complaint. Within a reasonable time specified by the Commission, the person shall satisfy the complaint or answer it in writing.
(c) If Complaint Not Satisfied.—If the complaint is not satisfied, the Commission shall investigate the complaint in an appropriate manner and make an appropriate order.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 41301(a) 46 App.:1710(a), (g) (related to time limit). Pub. L. 98–237, §11(a), (b), (g) (related to time limit), Mar. 20, 1984, 98 Stat. 80; Pub. L. 98–595, §3(b)(2), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 3132; Pub. L. 105–258, title I, §110, Oct. 14, 1998, 112 Stat. 1911. 41301(b) 46 App.:1710(b) (1st sentence). 41301(c) 46 App.:1710(b) (last sentence). In subsection (a), the words “If the complaint is filed within 3 years after the claim accrues” are substituted for “For any complaint filed within 3 years after the cause of action accrued” in 46 App. U.S.C. 1710(g) to alert the reader to that time limitation.