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Quiet Revolution: The Development Of Notice Requirements In Admiralty In Rem Actions, Ronald M. Morris

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The personification theory has declined in acceptance in the United States since the turn of the century. It is now largely discredited, and has been labeled a mere "literary theme" whose disappearance is "to be welcomed. The personification theory maintains vitality, however, because it provides a rationale for concluding that a ship, and not her owner, may be liable--a result many courts find difficult to justify without the theory.

If the personification theory is taken to its logical extreme, the constitutional due process requirement of notice and opportunity to defend is satisfied by pasting a summons to the vessel's bridge. …