Law Commons^™

The 1851 Shipowners' Limitation Of Liability Act: Should The Courts Deliver The Final Blow?, Mark A. White

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This comment identifies the 1851 Shipowners' Limitation of Liability Act as an enduring problem within federal maritime law and suggests that the courts may be able to exercise their powers of judicial review to strike it down. The Act was initially adopted at a time when American shipowners were in dire need of protection from potentially ruinous lawsuits. The Act, although hastily drawn, was imperative to the growth of the fledgling American shipping industry. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, numerous forms of liability insurance had been created and America saw the advent of the corporate form. These …