Curcuru v. Rose's Oil Service, Inc.

The sole issue presented in these appeals is whether a plaintiff is entitled to a jury trial on a claim brought in the Superior Court seeking recovery under the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), 46 U.S.C. App. §§ 761 et seq. (2000). The trial judge submitted the plaintiffs’ DOHSA claims to the jury on an advisory basis; after the jury answered special questions in favor of the plaintiffs, the judge decided that there was no right to a jury trial and entered judgment based on her own findings in favor of the defendant. For the following reasons, we conclude that there is a right to a jury…