Can the U.S. Government Be Sued for Wrongful Death in a Caribbean Boat Strike?

In this brief overview, I will describe the plaintiffs’ claims and the asserted basis for suit in U.S. court. The more difficult questions, to which I then turn, concern the problem of U.S. sovereign immunity (and its statutory waiver), along with the political question doctrine. The Plaintiffs’ Claims and the Court’s JurisdictionThe plaintiffs bring two claims for relief: first, for wrongful death under the Death on the High Seas Act (“DOHSA”), 46 U.S.C. Nonetheless, the United States can be expected to invoke several arguments that would narrow that waiver of immunity. Political Question DoctrineBeyond these and other issues concerning whether the United States has waived its sovereign immunity, the United States may well raise a political question defense.