Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. v. Walker

Relators are defendants in a wrongful death action brought by the real parties in interest as beneficiaries of persons killed in a helicopter crash about twenty miles off the coast of Brazil. Decedents, who were not citizens or residents of the United States, were being transported to work on offshore oil platforms in waters over the continental shelf of Brazil. Relators contend that undisputed facts establish that the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688(b) (1982), precludes plaintiffs from asserting their claims in any United States court. Thus, relators contend, the trial court lacks subject matter…