Churchill v. The F/V Fjord

SCHROEDER, Circuit Judge, with whom BROWNING, Chief Judge, ANDERSON, TANG and FERGUSON, Circuit Judges,

join, dissenting.

I dissent from the majority’s holding that henceforward the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will give no special consideration whatever to the decision of a district court on the state law of its home jurisdiction. The holding is not only a major departure from our own practice, but is contrary to all the reported decisions of the other circuits as well as the views of scholarly authorities on the question.

The result can only serve as a disincentive to our district courts to…