U.S. Supreme Court LONDON GUARANTEE & ACCIDENT CO. v. INDUSTRIAL ACC. COM'N OF, 279 U.S. 109 (1929)

[Page 279 U.S. 109, 125]

speaking, it is just as much a part of commerce and of the admiralty jurisdiction as if these vessels were carrying cargoes of merchandise. Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1, 215 et seq.. The conclusion sought to be drawn by counsel for the Commission from the Rohde and other cases is that workmen's compensation acts will apply unless their application would interfere with the uniformity of the general maritime law in interstate and foreign commerce, and there is neither here. But this omits one of the grounds for making an exception-that it shall not be prejudicial to the characteristic features of the maritime law. That is just what it would be here, for here we have a transaction on the navigable waters of the United States which in every respect covers all the characteristic features of maritime law and has no other features but those. To apply to such a case a state Compensation Law would certainly be prejudicial to those features. We must hold therefor that it was a violation of the exclusive maritime jurisdiction conferred by the Constitution to apply in this case the California Compensation Act.

The judgment of the Supreme Court of California is reversed.

Mr. Justice BRANDEIS dissents.