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Supreme Court Questions Which State’s Law Should Apply in Maritime Crash

A yacht owner argues that choice-of-law provisions in insurance contracts should sometimes be ignored by the courts.
Supreme Court Questions Which State’s Law Should Apply in Maritime Crash
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch poses for an official portrait at the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building, in Washington, on Oct. 7, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Matthew Vadum
Matthew Vadum
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An insurance company told the Supreme Court on Oct. 10 in a so-called choice-of-law case that under New York law it shouldn’t have to honor a claim involving a yacht that ran aground, because the inspection for the vessel’s fire suppression equipment had expired.

The company that owns the yacht argues that the dispute should be adjudicated under the laws of Pennsylvania, where it’s based, regardless of what the insurance contract stipulates.