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10 Suffolk Transnat'l L.J. 187 (1986)
Admiralty - Scope of Jurisdiction

handle is hein.journals/sujtnlr10 and id is 195 raw text is: ADMIRALTY-SCoPE OF JURISDICTION-Why Shipyard Workers with Asbestosis Are Not Entitled to Admiralty Jurisdiction, Oman v. Johns-Manville Corp., 764 F.2d 224 (4th Cir.1985). The United States Constitution grants the federal courts original jurisdiction over cases arising in admiralty.1 Tradi- tionally, any injury occuring on navigable waters was deemed to create an issue triable in admiralty.2 In Oman v. Johns- Manville Corp. ,' the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit narrowed the scope of admiralty jurisdiction by deciding that regardless of where the injury occurred, land based pursuits which do not qualify as a traditional maritime activity, do not warrant admiralty jurisdiction.4 The plaintiff, James Oman, was a shipyard worker whose work involved the installation of asbestos insulation.5 As a result of his prolonged exposure to asbestos fibers, Mr. Oman contracted the disease asbestosis.6 In 1976, James Oman and four other plaintiffs brought suit in the United States District Court for the District of Virginia against the Johns-Manville Corp., a manufacturer of the asbestos insulation used at the Newport News Shipyard.7 Oman asserted federal jurisdiction based upon both diversity and the court's constitutional au- thority to decide cases in admiralty.' It was Oman's conten- tion that since he contracted asbestosis while on board a ship 1. U.S. CONST. art. III, § 2, cl. 1. The judicial power shall extend... to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; Id. 2. The Plymouth, 70 U.S. (3 Wall.) 20, 35-36 (1865). 3. 764 F.2d 224 (4th Cir. 1985). 4. Id. at 226. The installation of asbestos was found not to qualify as a tradi- tional maritime activity and therefore the resulting injury caused by exposure to asbestos did not create an issue triable in admiralty. Id. 5. Id. Oman and three other plaintiffs were shipyard workers at Newport News Shipyard in Virginia. Id. 6. See id. Oman's work involved the prolonged exposure to and inhallation of air-born asbestos fibers. The build up of these fibers in the lung tissue creates the respiratory disease known as asbestosis. For which there is no known cure. Id. 7. Oman v. Johns-Manville Corp., No. 76-178NN, 77-97NN, Slip op. at 1 (E.D. Va. Jan 31, 1980). Oman represents a consolidation of several earlier actions against Johns-Manville by workers at the Newport News Shipyard. Id. 8. Id. at 5-6. However, the district court denies admiralty jurisdiction and ap- plies Virginia substantive law to plaintiffs claims. Id.

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