Sheffield v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp

In Sheffield v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp., 595 So. 2d 443 (Ala. 1992) the Court held: "Although the claims of the plaintiffs against the shipowners for Jones Act negligence and unseaworthiness are not at issue in this appeal, it is undisputed that federal law governs those claims. It follows, therefore, that federal maritime law also governs the indemnity claims of the shipowners against [third-party defendants.] Vaughn v. Farrell Lines, Inc., 937 F.2d 953, 956 (4th Cir. 1991) (where the 'underlying tort claims from which the indemnity claim is derived ... are maritime tort claims,' the '"indemnity claim arising therefrom is similarly a maritime claim"'); White v. Johns-Manville Corp., 662 F.2d 243, 247 (4th Cir. 1981); Swogger v. Waterman S.S. Corp., 151 A.D.2d 100, 546 N.Y.S.2d 80 (1989); T. Schoenbaum, Admiralty and Maritime Law 4-15, at 146 (1987) ('There is admiralty jurisdiction over controversies involving contribution and indemnification if jurisdiction exists over the underlying primary cause of action')." (595 So. 2d at 447.)