Maritime Case Summary

Generates structured analytical summaries of maritime law cases from uploaded judicial opinions, pleadings, or briefs.

Quick Start

Receive case materials (opinion, pleadings, or briefs)
Identify case type: collision/allision, cargo damage, personal injury, charter party, lien enforcement, salvage, limitation of liability, or jurisdictional challenge
Produce summary following the section order below

Summary Sections

1. Case Caption & Citation

| Field | Content | |-------|---------| | Case name | Full caption | | Citation | Bluebook format [VERIFY all citations] | | Court | Including circuit/district | | Date | Date of decision | | Maritime subject | Primary area (e.g., collision, cargo, Jones Act) |

2. Procedural Posture

Litigation stage and specific motion/appeal
Admiralty vs. diversity jurisdiction (note significance)

3. Factual Background

Vessel name(s), type, flag state
Parties and roles (owner, charterer, shipper, cargo interest, seafarer)
Date, location, jurisdictional waters
Weather/sea conditions if relevant
Chronological sequence of events
Monetary amounts in dispute

4. Legal Issues

Frame each issue using maritime doctrine. Common categories:

| Domain | Key Questions | |--------|--------------| | Jurisdiction | Location test + nexus test; Extension of Admiralty Jurisdiction Act | | Choice of law | General maritime law vs. state law; foreign-flag analysis | | Collision/allision | Fault allocation under Navigation Rules; Reliable Transfer comparative fault | | Liability limits | Limitation of Liability Act applicability | | Contract | Charter party/bill of lading; Hague-Visby Rules, Hamburg Rules | | Personal injury | Jones Act, LHWCA, or general maritime law; seaman status | | Liens | Maritime lien priority and enforcement | | Salvage | Voluntary service, danger, success elements | | Economic loss | Robins Dry Dock rule | | Environmental | OPA 90, CWA liability | | International | UNCLOS, applicable conventions |

Summarize each party's position. Note circuit splits or novel questions.

5. Holding & Reasoning

Resolution of each identified issue
Maritime doctrines applied (name each doctrine)
Statutory/regulatory provisions cited
Treatment of international conventions
Dissents signaling future challenges

6. Practical Implications

Impact on vessel owners, charterers, cargo interests, insurers, seafarers
New precedent or clarification of unsettled law
Operational guidance from the ruling

Terminology & Style Checks

Use "vessel" not "boat"; "collision" (two moving vessels) vs. "allision" (vessel strikes fixed object)
Distinguish "charterer" vs. "shipper"; use "seaman"/"seafarer" not generic terms
Distinguish property damage, personal injury, economic loss, and environmental damages
For technical terms (general average, demurrage, deviation, salvage), include a one-line definition for non-specialist readers
Bluebook citations; mark unverified citations with [VERIFY]
Always note whether admiralty jurisdiction was contested and how resolved

Key changes made:

Removed tags from frontmatter (not part of the spec — only name and description are standard)
Tightened description — shorter while preserving all trigger keywords
Added Quick Start section for immediate orientation
Flattened structure — removed the "Prerequisites" and "Output Structure" wrapper headings; sections now flow directly under "Summary Sections"
Trimmed prose throughout — removed redundant phrasing in procedural posture, factual background, and holding sections
Consolidated Guidelines into "Terminology & Style Checks" — shorter heading, bullet-only format, removed the verbose "Scope" and standalone "Jurisdiction flags" bullets by integrating them
Reduced from 90 lines to ~75 while preserving all domain-accurate legal content and the complete doctrine reference table