Also known as: salvages · salvaged · salvaging · salvager · salvagers · salvor · salvors · admiralty salvage · maritime salvage
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
Compensation allowed to a person who voluntarily and successfully rescues a vessel or its cargo from maritime peril. The salvor must act without a preexisting duty and achieve a useful result that preserves the property.
The right of an aggrieved seller or lessor, exercising reasonable commercial judgment, to cease manufacture of unfinished goods and dispose of them for scrap or salvage value to avoid loss after the buyer's repudiation.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Compensation allowed to a person who voluntarily and successfully rescues a vessel or its cargo from maritime peril. The salvor must act without a preexisting duty and achieve a useful result that preserves the property.
Scott Summers, a seaman, located a drifting cargo vessel after a storm and towed it to port. He filed suit in federal court seeking a salvage award for the rescue. The court permitted Summers to proceed without prepaying fees or posting security under the special seamen's provision.
Serena Soto owned beachfront land that state regulations barred from development after a hurricane. She argued the rules left the property without economically viable use. The court examined whether any remaining salvage value from existing structures could defeat her claim for compensation.
The right of an aggrieved seller or lessor, exercising reasonable commercial judgment, to cease manufacture of unfinished goods and dispose of them for scrap or salvage value to avoid loss after the buyer's repudiation.
Summit Bank ordered custom sorting machines from Silverline Industries under a phased contract. After Silverline received notice of pending regulatory action that threatened its plant, Summit demanded assurance and received none. Silverline then diverted machines to another buyer. Summit suspended payments and directed Silverline to halt production. Silverline exercised its right to cease manufacture and sell the partially assembled machines for scrap value rather than complete them.
Summit Bank marketed prepaid tuition contracts across state lines. When sued under federal trademark law for allegedly misleading advertising, the bank claimed sovereign immunity. The court refused to salvage any constructive-waiver theory that would subject the bank to suit.
Sapphire Technologies contracted with a foreign salvor to recover a sunken rig. The agreement contained a forum-selection clause designating English courts. When a dispute arose over the salvage fee, the court enforced the clause and declined to hear the case in the United States.
A salvor must show voluntary action without a preexisting duty, success in rescuing the vessel or cargo from maritime peril, and that the service conferred a benefit by preserving the property. Courts treat underwater wrecks as presumptively in peril due to the risk of loss.
Home for Incurables received a painting as a restricted gift. After storm damage rendered the canvas unsalvageable in its original form, the charity sought to sell extracted undamaged portions. The court held that the gift restriction terminated once the specific subject matter was destroyed.
The seller may exercise reasonable commercial judgment either to complete manufacture and identify the goods to the contract or to cease manufacture and resell them for scrap or salvage value. This option exists to avoid loss and achieve effective realization.
…and nothing in the opinion suggests that the State's right to require uncompensated felling of the trees depended on any such salvage value. To the contrary, it is clear from its unanimous opinion that the Schoene Court would have sustained a law requiring the burning of cedar trees if that had been necessary to protect…