As a follow up to my post of September 21, 2011 detailing the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision finding treasure found by Odyssey Marine Exploration was the property of the Spanish Goverment, the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals from that decision yesterday (see page 12 of linked Order list).
Three separate appeals, or Petitions for Certiorari, for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the appeals were denied on May 14, 2012. They included appeals by Odyssey Marine, the Government of Peru, and claimed descendants of owners of cargo from the shipwreck.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not always "finders keepers" and possession is not 9/10ths of the law, at least when it comes to the spoils from a sunken warship.
Showing posts with label odyssey marine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label odyssey marine. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Friday, September 23, 2011
Court Orders Treasure Hunters to Return Coins & Artifacts to Kingdom of Spain
It's not everyday you get a published opinion from a Federal Appellate Court that recounts intrigue and lost treasure from the Napoleonic wars at the turn of the 19th Century. It's also not everyday the prevailing litigant is the Kingdom of Spain.
Viewers of cable television may recall a series, "Treasure Hunters" showing the for-profit Odyssey Marine Exploration team searching for sunken treasure. If I recall, the series showed thousands of coins recovered from a wreck and held in an undisclosed location, pending litigation by the Spanish Government. Well now the other doubloon drops as it were...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held this week that treasure-hunters Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., must return the res , or property recovered from the a wreck site near Gibraltar. The Opinion is attached here. The Court found that the ship was the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, and that the ship was a Spanish Naval vessel sunk by British Warships in 1804 as it sailed for Spain loaded with treasure.
The Court's opinion is not only interesting for its recitation of the historical context of the voyage and loss of the Mercedes (see page 22 and following), it is also an interesting legal ruling. In summary, the Court ruled that a salvor, or finder of treasure, cannot have a U.S. Court arrest the property of a foreign nation. The Court held that it had "constructive possession" of the shipwreck because part of the wreck had been deposited by Odyssey with the District Court. Ultimately, the Court ordered the return of nearly 600,000 coins and other artifacts to Spain, over which it had "constructive possession" though it had no jurisdiction over the property.
The statue construed was the Federal Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), 28 U.S.C. 1602-1611
Viewers of cable television may recall a series, "Treasure Hunters" showing the for-profit Odyssey Marine Exploration team searching for sunken treasure. If I recall, the series showed thousands of coins recovered from a wreck and held in an undisclosed location, pending litigation by the Spanish Government. Well now the other doubloon drops as it were...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held this week that treasure-hunters Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., must return the res , or property recovered from the a wreck site near Gibraltar. The Opinion is attached here. The Court found that the ship was the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, and that the ship was a Spanish Naval vessel sunk by British Warships in 1804 as it sailed for Spain loaded with treasure.
The Court's opinion is not only interesting for its recitation of the historical context of the voyage and loss of the Mercedes (see page 22 and following), it is also an interesting legal ruling. In summary, the Court ruled that a salvor, or finder of treasure, cannot have a U.S. Court arrest the property of a foreign nation. The Court held that it had "constructive possession" of the shipwreck because part of the wreck had been deposited by Odyssey with the District Court. Ultimately, the Court ordered the return of nearly 600,000 coins and other artifacts to Spain, over which it had "constructive possession" though it had no jurisdiction over the property.
The statue construed was the Federal Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), 28 U.S.C. 1602-1611
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