Lozman v. Riviera Beach (11-626)

argument 11-626

Lozman v. Riviera Beach

Supreme Court of the United States 59 min 5 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 5 days ago official recording ↗

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What is the Supreme Court’s “practical capability” test for determining if a structure is a vessel?

John G. Roberts 0:02

We'll hear argument next in case eleven six twenty six, Lozman versus the city of Riviera Beach. Mr Fisher.

Unknown 0:10

Mr Chief Justice, and may it please the court. To be a vessel, a structure must be practically capable of maritime transportation. in this case turns on how to assess such practical capability. That's a question this court answered over a century ago in Cope and Perry explaining that practical capability depends not on any physical attribute the structure might have, but rather on quote its purpose. That is, it's whether its function is to move people or things across water. And that test has been applied numerous times before and since across decades, providing stability and overall coherence to general maritime law. And of course, that way then, because it really Pardon me? That doesn't seem to me a very

Unknown 0:58

felicitous description of what uh of what the test is is enunciated to be. Well, I the the test is whether it's what? Practically able? Practically capable. Practically capable. Well you could be practically capable of doing something, even though the purpose of of of setting the thing up ha has nothing to do with that. Well that's not what discourse cases say.

Unknown 1:29

Let's get rid of this practically capable test. Because practically capable, frankly, would make us come out the other way in this case. With all due respect, I don't think that's correct. In Evansville in nineteen twenty six this court used that exact phrase, practical capability, and it assessed that practical capability by looking at quote the function of the structure. Again and again in Evansville and others' cases, this court asks was the function of the structure to carry people or things across water? Because there's another.

John G. Roberts 1:58

I understand that argument. It's got no connection whatever to the statutory language, right?

Unknown 2:04

Well I think the word capable obviously is in the statute and what this court has said as recently is Stewart is that Capable in the

John G. Roberts 2:10

statute purpose uh is not, right?

Unknown 2:14

Correct. And what this Court said in Stewart is that capable means practically capable, not theoretically capable. There's a range of of how broad the word capable can be. And again, going back over a century, every single time this court's been confronted with that question, it's used the term function. to describe whether or not something is practically capable of carrying people or things over water. Um with its purpose or function. There the briefs cited a district court decision, Sea Village Marina. Uh that says Floating homes like the one here that can be towed, that are not in the business of carrying people or goods. but can be towed miles across the water. that those constitute vessels. And th the this uh district court decision sea village marina cited many, many cases.

Unknown 3:17

And do you say that that district judge just got it wrong and or the cases? Oh well wrong? Just as Ginsbury, I think there's a confusion of terminology that I hope I can. that I hope I can uh straighten out at the outset. The term floating home is generally described to mean a residence that is designed to sit still and is not designed to carry people or things over water. The term houseboat is something that is self-propelled, generally moves people or things over w and generally moves people or things over water. What happened in the Sea Village Marina case, in my understanding, is the court simply used the wrong term. It cited a lot of cases that held that houseboats, as we describe a houseboat as something that is designed to move its owner and the owner's things from here to there are vessels.

Unknown 4:01

And we don't dispute that. But on the other hand, you have something called floating homes. uh which the brief filed by the Seattle and Sausalito Floating Homes Associations give a very thorough description of what a floating home is and how it's different. And in a primary way that it's different is that As opposed to a houseboat which is doing its function, it's doing its job when it's moving things from pla place to place. A floating home can't function when it's out in the water being towed.