Marx v. Government of Guam

DAVID R. THOMPSON, Circuit Judge:

I

INTRODUCTION

This in rem admiralty case concerns two Spanish galleons thought to have sunk off the coast of Guam in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The issues are: (1) whether we have jurisdiction of this appeal under the collateral order doctrine, (2) whether the government of Guam (“Guam”) has standing, and (3) whether Guam has sovereign immunity which precludes the exercise of federal jurisdiction over its claims to the wrecks.

II

FACTS

Appellee Robert Marx (“Marx”) and Guam believe the two shipwrecks are the remnants of the Nuestra Senora del Bien…