# Can the Japanese Fishermen and Their Families Sue the US?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-japanese-fishermen-and-their-families-sue-the-us/54496>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 14, 2001, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-japanese-fishermen-and-their-families-sue-the-us/54496 "2001-02-14T19:06:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-japanese-fishermen-and-their-families-sue-the-us/54496/21 "2001-02-15T21:08:45Z")

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As promised, I found the Federal Tort Claims Act, which can be found at 28 U.S.C. 2671-2680. Section 2674 is the main waiver of sovereign liability:

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> The United States shall be liable, respecting the provisions of this title to tort claims, in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances, but shall not be liable for interest prior to judgment or for punitive damages.

So no punitive damages in any event, **WB**. Also, it turns out there is no problem with the fact that this is a military incident. Here’s the relevant part of section 2680, which is the list of exceptions to the general waiver of immunity:

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> The provisions of [FTCA] shall not apply to … (j) Any claim arising out of the combatant activities of the military or naval forces, or the Coast Guard, during time of war.

Again, however, I want to stress that I know nothing about that maritime treaty that was mentioned earlier,\* so I don’t know how it would interact with the FTCA.

\*Incidentally, **Tranquilis** , Flight 800 suits are governed by the Warsaw Convention, which is indeed a treaty, but only applies to international flights. It has no impact on shipping, AFAIK. I think your $50,000 figure is about right under Warsaw, however.

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**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-japanese-fishermen-and-their-families-sue-the-us/54496/22 "2001-02-15T21:44:57Z")

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> \*Originally posted by minty green \*  
> \*\*\*Incidentally, **Tranquilis** , Flight 800 suits are governed by the Warsaw Convention, which is indeed a treaty, but only applies to international flights. It has no impact on shipping, AFAIK. I think your $50,000 figure is about right under Warsaw, however. \*\*

I went back and looked it up, Yeah: Air Carriers are limited under the Warsaw Convention, which, as ammended, limits to $75,000 any recovery for loss of life. The other treaty is the CONVENTION ON LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR MARITIME CLAIMS, 1976, which concerns surface (and perhaps, submarine) vessels. I think the limitations under that treaty have been adequately covered at this point.

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