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Strict Compliance With Marine Insurance Contracts: Conflicting Rules In The Ninth Circuit, Rhea D. Pappas-Ward

Washington Law Review

Under the federal admiralty "strict compliance rule," a policy of marine insurance is voided by an insured vessel owner's failure to comply with express policy terms or "warranties." Although recognized and applied by a majority of the federal circuits, the strict compliance rule has been improperly ignored by a handful of district courts within the Ninth Circuit. Instead, by misapplying the holding of Wilburn Boat v. Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., a 1955 Supreme Court case, and by ignoring the Ninth Circuit's interpretation of Wilburn Boat in Bohemia, Inc. v. Home Insurance Co., these district courts have turned to …