Full opinion text
Table of Contents Introduction. 170 I.Facts and Procedural History. 171 II.The Lauritzen Triad and Subject Matter Jurisdiction. 174 A. The Non-Jurisdictional Nature of the Lauritzen Choice-of-Law Analysis 174 B. Federal Question and Admiralty Jurisdiction. 178 1. Federal Question Jurisdiction Under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. 178 2. Admiralty Jurisdiction Under 28 U.S.C. § 1333 . 178 III.Applicability of American Law Under the Lauritzen Triad. 180 A. Introduction. 180 B. Purposes of and Problems with the Lauritzen Analysis. 181 C. The Two Steps of the Lauritzen Choice of Law Inquiry. 182 1. Do the Contacts Show a Basis for Prescriptive Jurisdiction?. 184 2. Are the Contacts Such That Application of American Law Would Be Reasonable?. 186 a. Inaccessibility of a Foreign Forum. 190 b. Law of the Forum. 190 c. Place of the Wrongful Act. 190 d. Place of Contract. 03 CJ5> rH e. Law of the Flag. CO 05) tH f. Defendants’ Allegiance, Bases of Operations, and Other Contacts with the United States. ^ rH g. Domicile or Allegiance of the Injured Seaman. tH h. Summary and Conclusion. tH IV. The Molding of the Verdict. GO rH A. Waiver of Comparative Causation on the Unseaworthiness Claim. 05 tH B. Lack of Authority to Mold the Verdict. H 03 C. Joint and Several Liability. M 03 V. Conclusion. 03 Argued Aug. 8, 1994 Before: MANSMANN, COWEN, and McKEE, Circuit Judges. Reargued En Banc Feb. 7, 1995 Before: SLOVITER, Chief Judge, BECKER, STAPLETON, MANSMANN, GREENBERG, HUTCHINSON, SCIRICA, COWEN, NYGAARD, ALITO, ROTH, LEWIS, McKEE, and SAROKIN, Circuit Judges. OPINION OF THE COURT BECKER, Circuit Judge. Introduction Plaintiff Eileen Anne Neely, a young American employed at a Club Med resort in St. Lucia, was seriously injured when she was sucked into the propellers of a scuba diving vessel, the Long John. Plaintiff was a member of the crew of the vessel, which was in St. Lucian coastal waters at the time of the accident. She brought suit in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and a jury there, responding to special interrogatories, found her employers negligent and the vessel unseaworthy, and awarded plaintiff a large verdict on her Jones Act, general maritime law, and maintenance and cure claims. Molding the verdict in response to post-trial motions, the court modified and substantially reduced the ver-diet by applying to the unseaworthiness claim the percentage of contributory negligence found by the jury with respect to the Jones Act claims. Then, on cross-appeals, a panel of this court, invoking Lauritzen v. Larsen, 345 U.S. 571, 73 S.Ct. 921, 97 L.Ed. 1254 (1953), vacated the entire judgment for the plaintiff on the ground that the district court had lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action. We granted rehearing in banc and vacated the panel opinion and judgment. While the appeals present a large number of questions, we address only the subject matter jurisdiction, choice of law, and verdict molding issues. With respect to subject matter jurisdiction, we conclude that the multi-factored analysis established by Lauritzen, Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co., 358 U.S. 354, 79 S.Ct. 468, 3 L.Ed.2d 368 (1959), and Hellenic Lines Ltd. v. Rhoditis, 398 U.S. 306, 90 S.Ct. 1731, 26 L.Ed.2d 252 (1970) (together, the “Lauritzen triad”), governs choice of law, not subject matter jurisdiction, in Jones Act and American general maritime law claims. Then, applying the usual analyses for federal question and admiralty jurisdiction, we conclude that the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over this suit. Turning our attention to the multi-factored “substantial contacts” test of the Lauritzen triad, we adopt a two-stage interpretation of that test, subjecting the Lauritzen factors to a relatively simple sufficiency test followed by a more involved reasonableness inquiry. We first find American maritime law potentially applicable in this ease because the plaintiff is an American citizen. Accordingly, we consider whether applying American law is reasonable under the circumstances. Because the defendants did not inform the district court of the content of St. Lucian law, any interests St. Lucia might have in this case are undefined and, consequently, do little to render application of American law unreasonable. Additionally, in considering the significance of the various Lauritzen factors, we pay heed to the non-traditional context of this suit. By this we do not mean that the vessel involved here was unlike those in traditional, international shipping cases; rather, the activity here was non-traditional, for the Long John did not take its crew from sea to sea in pursuit of international commerce but rather only from beach to reef in aid of scuba diving adventures. The accident occurred in St. Lucian waters, which as we explain is an important consideration in non-shipping contexts. And one of the defendants is a corporation organized under the laws of St. Lucia, a factor that also reflects some interest on the part of St. Lucia in applying its law. But these factors do not mean that American law may not be reasonably applied under the circumstances. Even when we add to these some evidence that the Long John, the vessel that injured plaintiff, was registered in St. Lucia, we cannot conclude that St. Lucia’s interests, whatever they may be, are so threatened or so strong that America’s interests must be ignored. As our opinion explains, the United States has an overriding interest in assuring adequate compensation for its injured seamen. In the non-shipping context of this case, the significance of plaintiffs American allegiance is an especially important factor, and the relevance of the plaintiffs having entered into her employment contract in the United States is also enhanced. Conversely, the law of the flag of the Long John is of diminished importance in the non-traditional context, and, at all events, the law of the flag would be entitled to virtually no significance here both because there was no evidence that the Long John actually flew the flag of St. Lucia (or any other nation) and because the district court was presented with no information as to the content of St. Lucian law. Additionally, two of the defendants are American corporations, the Long John was built in America to American specifications, and the St. Lucian defendant, whose operations are in large measure run by one of its affiliated American co-defendants, derives the majority of its income from American tourists booked by another affiliated American co-defendant. Because the connections between this incident and the United States implicate significant American interests, and because consideration of all the circumstances confirms the reasonableness of applying United States law, we conclude that the contacts with the United States are “substantial,” and American laws, both the Jones Act and our general maritime law, apply to this suit. We also conclude that the district court erred in molding the verdict to apply the percentage of comparative negligence found by the jury with respect to the Jones Act claim to the unseaworthiness claim. We so hold because the defendants waived the issue, and because the court, which did not submit it to the jury, lacked authority to later make the omitted factual determinations sua sponte. We will therefore affirm the order of the district court holding two of the defendants liable under American law, but will vacate the district court’s order of January 26,1993, and direct it, on remand, to enter judgment for the plaintiff against Club Med Management and Holiday Village in the full amount of damages found by the jury, as more fully explained below. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The defendants in this action are Club Med, Inc., Club Med Sales, Inc., and Club Med Management Services, Inc., all of which have offices in New York, and Club Med, Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary Holiday Village (St. Lucia) Ltd. Of the 10,000 to 15,000 people per year who vacation at the Club Med Holiday Village resort, approximately seventy to eighty percent come from the United States. Seventy to eighty percent of Holiday Village’s annual income of approximately fifteen million dollars is generated by Holiday Village’s American sales bureau, Club Med Sales. Plaintiff is an American citizen domiciled in Telford (Montgomery County), Pennsylvania. After vacationing at a Club Med resort, she applied to Club Med for a position as a scuba diving instructor. Plaintiff was interviewed in New York by Club Med Management, a New York corporation. Following the interview, plaintiff received a letter of interest from the defendants, followed several months later by a phone call, initiated in New York by Club Med Management, offering her a position at Holiday Village, which she accepted. In early May of 1991, the defendants arranged and paid the travel expenses for her to go to Holiday Village in St. Lucia. Plaintiff was hired to work as an “au pair” for a six-week period. She was not given a cash salary, but rather received room and board in exchange for her work. Once at Holiday Village, she served as either Scuba Diving Instructor or Divemaster on approximately thirteen or fourteen voyages from May 13 to May 23, 1991. She typically had trips twice in the morning and once in the afternoon. She was responsible for checking and preparing all equipment (which was stored aboard scuba diving boats) for each voyage. During the trips, she provided instruction and warnings to the Club Med guests who would be diving. The scuba expeditions on which plaintiff worked were conducted by a small fleet operated by Holiday Village. The fleet consisted of the Blue Lagoon, owned by Club Med, and the Long John, chartered by Holiday Village for use as a diving vessel from its title owner Joseph LeMaire (who lives in Miami, Florida but is not a United States citizen). A declaration executed by LeMaire claimed that the Long John, which was built in the United States, was “registered” in St. Lucia, but the charter left blank the state of registry. On May 23, 1991, plaintiff served Club Med guests on a scuba diving excursion on the Long John, which was captained by Phil-ipe Le Cann. When the boat arrived at the dive site in coastal waters off St. Lucia, the passengers and dive crew prepared to enter the water. The boat was put in neutral, and, after donning her gear, plaintiff entered the water. It was disputed whether Stephane Gaudry, the Divemaster, had given the signal to enter the water before plaintiff jumped in: the uncontroverted testimony was that Gaudry made no entry of plaintiffs dive time on the dive log. Whatever the precise sequence of events, after plaintiff had entered the water, the captain put the ship’s engines into reverse. The churning propellers of the twin 350 horsepower diesel engines sucked plaintiff under the boat and into the ship’s propellers, which were not shielded by propeller guards, and she emerged on the starboard side with extremely serious injuries to various parts of her body. She was brought on board the ship, taken immediately to shore, and thereafter to a clinic and then a hospital. After being treated, plaintiff was out of work for approximately five and one-half months. During this time, she convalesced at her parents’ home in Telford, where they cared for her on a daily basis. Despite two surgeries for nerve damage, her use of her right arm was permanently restricted; she also will require plastic surgery for her numerous conspicuous scars. Plaintiff eventually brought suit in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, pleading the federal question and admiralty statutes, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1333 (1988), as bases for subject matter jurisdiction. She alleged that her injuries were caused by negligence in violation of the Jones Act, and by the unseaworthy condition of the vessel in violation of the general maritime law. The defendants interposed a host of defenses, including contributory negligence and, relying on Lauritzen v. Larsen, 345 U.S. 571, 73 S.Ct. 921, 97 L.Ed. 1254 (1953), and Hellenic Lines Ltd. v. Rhoditis, 398 U.S. 306, 90 S.Ct. 1731, 26 L.Ed.2d 252 (1970), the claim that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to apply American law. Although they argued that St. Lucia had a greater interest in having its law applied, the defendants did not present the court with any information concerning the law of St. Lucia. The district court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, and allowed the suit to go to trial. During trial, the court ruled, without objection from the defendants, that contributory negligence was not a defense to the unseaworthiness claim. At the close of trial, the court instructed the jury and provided it with a special verdict form, the first draft of which had been prepared by defense counsel. The form required the jury to answer a number of specific questions, grouped and captioned as we now describe. The first set of questions were presented under the heading “Jones Act Claim.” In these, the jury was asked whether plaintiff was employed by one or more of the defendants; if so, which defendant or defendants were her employer; whether her employer or employers were negligent; whether any such negligence was a substantial factor in bringing about plaintiffs injuries; whether plaintiff was contributorily negligent; whether any such contributory negligence was a substantial factor in bringing about her injuries; and how the causal negligence should be allocated (totalling 100%) among the employer or employers and, if appropriate, the plaintiff. The second set of questions were grouped under the caption “General Maritime Claim.” In this section of the form the jury was required to answer whether any of the defendants owned or sufficiently controlled the Long John to qualify as owner or owner pro hoc vice; if so, which defendant(s) controlled the vessel; whether the plaintiff had shown that the vessel was unseaworthy; and if so, whether the unseaworthiness was a substantial factor contributing to plaintiffs injuries. This section asked no questions about contributory responsibility. The third section of the special verdict sheet was labeled “Damages.” The jury was there directed to “[sjtate the amount of damages, if any, sustained by the Plaintiff as a result of the accident, without regard to and without reduction by the percentage of causal negligence, if any, that you have attributed to the plaintiff.” The fourth and final portion of the verdict sheet was captioned “Maintenance.” There, the jury was asked whether it found the plaintiff entitled to maintenance, and whether any of the defendants (and, if so, which) acted unreasonably in denying maintenance to her. On the Jones Act questions, the jury found that plaintiff was employed by Club Med Management and by Holiday Village, that those defendants had been negligent, and that their negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiffs injuries. The jury also found, however, that the plaintiff was contributorily negligent. It allocated the total causal negligence thirty percent to Club Med Management, ten percent to Holiday Village, and sixty percent to the plaintiff. In answer to the General Maritime Law questions, the jury found that Holiday Village exercised sufficient control over the Long John to be its owner pro hoc vice. It also found the Long John to have been unseawor-thy, and that the unseaworthiness was a substantial factor causing plaintiff’s injuries. On the remaining questions, the jury found the plaintiff’s total damages sustained from the accident, without regard to any causal negligence on her own part, to be $545,000. It also found that the plaintiff was entitled to maintenance, but that none of the defendants had acted unreasonably in withholding payment. Thereupon, the district court molded the verdict to reflect plaintiffs comparative negligence: On the Jones Act claim, the court entered judgment against Club Med Management and Holiday Village in the amount of forty percent of $545,000, that is, $218,000. On the maintenance claim, the court entered judgment against the same defendants for $11,700, but denied attorneys fees to plaintiff because the jury had found that the denial of maintenance was not unreasonable. On the unseaworthiness claim, the court entered judgment in plaintiffs favor against Holiday Village in the full amount of $545,000. A week later the defendants moved the district court to mold the verdict on the unseaworthiness claim. Relying upon case law holding that comparative fault is a partial defense to general maritime law unseaworthiness claims, the defendants urged the district court to reduce the unseaworthiness verdict by sixty percent, the percentage of the plaintiffs contributory negligence on the Jones Act claim. Over plaintiffs objection, the district court entered an order so modifying the judgment. Plaintiff filed a timely appeal, and defendants cross-appealed. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1988), we have appellate jurisdiction over the final orders of the district court. II. The Lauritzen Triad and Subject Matter Jurisdiction Beginning with their initial answer in the district court, the defendants have argued that, pursuant to the multi-factored analysis developed in Lauritzen v. Larsen, 345 U.S. 571, 73 S.Ct. 921, 97 L.Ed. 1254 (1953), and Hellenic Lines, Ltd. v. Rhoditis, 398 U.S. 306, 90 S.Ct. 1731, 26 L.Ed.2d 252 (1970), the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs Jones Act and general maritime law unseaworthiness claims. Because subject matter jurisdiction restrictions impose a limit on the power of the federal courts to entertain an action, we must first consider whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs suit. If the district court lacked such jurisdiction, it would be our duty to vacate the judgments in plaintiffs favor and direct the district court to dismiss her action. We hold that the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over this suit. This ruling primarily reflects a disagreement with defendants’ premise that the Lauritzen triad (composed of Lauritzen, Rhoditis, and Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co., 358 U.S. 354, 79 S.Ct. 468, 3 L.Ed.2d 368 (1959)) provides the framework for determining whether a district court has subject matter jurisdiction in Jones Act or general maritime law cases. A. The Non-Jurisdictional Nature of the Lauritzen Choice-of-Law Analysis In Lauritzen v. Larsen, 345 U.S. 571, 73 S.Ct. 921, 97 L.Ed. 1254 (1953), the Supreme Court enunciated a number of factors to be considered by courts evaluating whether a plaintiff may sue under the Jones Act. These factors include: (1) the place of the wrongful act, (2) the law of the flag, (3) the allegiance or domicile of the injured plaintiff, (4) the allegiance of the defendant, (5) the place of contract, (6) the inaccessibility of a foreign forum, and (7) the law of the forum. See Lauritzen, 345 U.S. at 583-92, 73 S.Ct. at 928-33. The Court reiterated the relevance of these factors in Romero, see 358 U.S. at 383, 79 S.Ct. at 486, and in Hellenic Lines, Ltd. v. Rhoditis, 398 U.S. 306, 90 S.Ct. 1731, 26 L.Ed.2d 252 (1970), it added the defendant’s base of operations to this list, id. at 309, 90 S.Ct. at 1734. Defendants believe that this inquiry determines whether the district court has subject matter jurisdiction. This view was not challenged in the district court, which considered the factors and found subject matter jurisdiction, or before the panel, which reconsidered them but found no jurisdiction. Moreover, a number of cases in various jurisdictions so hold. However, after granting rehearing in bane, we sua sponte directed the parties to prepare supplemental briefing on the question whether the Lauritzen-Romero-Rhodi-tis factors (henceforth referred to as the “Lauritzen factors” for simplicity) in fact go to subject matter jurisdiction. With the benefit of counsel’s briefing and argument, and after studying the Supreme Court’s opinions and numerous cases interpreting them, we conclude that the Lauritzen factors are not a test for subject matter jurisdiction, but rather constitute a non-exhaustive list of contacts for choice of law analysis in suits for maritime injuries with foreign connections. In Lauritzen, the Supreme Court was called on to answer a question of the extraterritorial applicability of the Jones Act. While in New York, Larsen, a Danish seaman, had signed onto a ship of Danish flag and registry owned by Lauritzen, another Danish citizen. The ship’s articles that Larsen signed were written in Danish and specified that Danish law would govern the crew-members’ rights. After being injured in the course of his employment while in Havana harbor, Larsen brought suit against Laurit-zen in the District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to recover damages under the Jones Act. Over Laurit-zen’s objection that Danish law rather than American law governed, the district court allowed the case to go to the jury under the Jones Act, which rendered a verdict in Larsen’s favor. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari. The Court formulated the “key issue” as “whether statutes of the United States should be applied to this claim of maritime tort.” Lauritzen, 345 U.S. at 573, 73 S.Ct. at 923. As did the defendants herein, Laurit-zen had framed his objection in terms of subject matter jurisdiction, but the Court quickly disposed of this argument: The question of jurisdiction is shortly an-swered_ As frequently happens, a contention that there is some barrier to granting plaintiffs claim is cast in terms of an exception to jurisdiction of subject matter. A cause of action under our law was asserted here,- and the court had power to determine whether it was or was not well founded in law and in fact. Id. at 574, 73 S.Ct. at 924. Thus, the Court’s later analysis introducing the now-famous Lauritzen factors was directed to choice of law, see id. at 583, 73 S.Ct. at 928, not subject matter jurisdiction, which the Court had already determined was present. Similarly, in Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co., 358 U.S. 354, 79 S.Ct. 468, 3 L.Ed.2d 368 (1959), the Court faced a suit brought under American law by a foreign sailor. Romero, a Spanish seaman, had signed onto the crew of a vessel of Spanish registry that sailed under the Spanish flag and was owned by a Spanish corporation. After departing from a Spanish port, the ship made numerous stops, including one in Hobo-ken, where Romero was injured when struck by a cable on the ship’s deck. He filed suit in the District Court for the Southern District of New York, contending inter alia that the shipowner (“Compania”) was liable to him under the Jones Act and under the general maritime law of the United States for unseaworthiness of the ship, maintenance and cure, and maritime tort. The alleged bases for jurisdiction were the Jones Act, federal question jurisdiction, and diversity jurisdiction. The district court dismissed the complaint after a pre-trial hearing. It concluded that the Jones Act provided no right of action to an alien seaman under the circumstances involved, and thus that the court lacked jurisdiction over the Jones Act claim against Compania. The court dismissed the general maritime claim against the corporation because the company was not of diverse citizenship from Romero and because of its conclusion that the federal question statute did not embrace general maritime law claims. The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the complaint, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari. In Part I of its opinion, entitled “Jurisdiction,” id. at 359, 79 S.Ct. at 473, the Court concluded that the district court possessed subject matter jurisdiction of the claims. With respect to the Jones Act claims, it noted: [T]he question whether jurisdiction exists has been confused with the question whether the complaint states a cause of action. Petitioner asserts a substantial claim that the Jones Act affords him a right of recovery for the negligence of his employer. Such assertion alone is sufficient to empower the District Court to assume jurisdiction over the case and determine whether, in fact, the Act does provide the claimed rights. Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The Court then affirmed Laurit-zen’s holding that the usual federal question approach to subject matter jurisdiction governs Jones Act suits. See id. Importantly, the Romero Court turned to the Lauritzen factors (in Part II of its opinion, entitled “The Claims Against Compañía Transatlántica — The Choice-of-Law Problem,” id. at 381, 79 S.Ct. at 485) only after concluding that the district court had erred in dismissing Romero’s suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Thus, the Court’s decision in Romero confirms that the Laurit-zen factors are not a test for subject matter jurisdiction but rather govern choice of law. The innovation in Romero was its pronouncement that the Lauritzen analysis should govern not only Jones Act claims but also claims under the general maritime law for personal injury damages. Id. at 382, 79 S.Ct. at 485. Our understanding of these precedents is confirmed by a leading admiralty treatise. See GRANT GilmoRE & Charles L. Blaok, Jr., The Law of Admiralty § 6-63 (2d ed. 1975) [hereinafter Law of Admiralty], Discussing “Choice of Law in Actions Brought in the United States by Seamen Injured on Foreign-Flag Ships,” the authors explain that when “a seaman brings an action to recover for personal injuries, the court must initially decide whether it has jurisdiction and, if it has, whether United States law or the law of a foreign nation is applicable.” Id. at 471. They go on to discuss Lauritzen and Romero as follows: The majority of the Court concluded that neither the situs of the injury nor Romero’s treatment in this country made a ease, under the Lauritzen criteria, for application of American law in Romero’s action against his employer, the Spanish Line. Justice Frankfurter’s opinion emphasized that the issue was one of choice of law and not of subject matter jurisdiction. That is, the District Court, having decided that Romero’s action against his employer was not governed by American law, could have retained jurisdiction of the action and decided it under Spanish law. Id. at 473 (emphasis supplied). The Supreme Court’s third and latest pronouncement on the role of the Lauritzen factors came in 1970. While the Court’s opinion in Hellenic Lines, Ltd. v. Rhoditis, 398 U.S. 306, 90 S.Ct. 1731, 26 L.Ed.2d 252 (1970), is partially opaque, it does not signal a change in the purpose and use of the Lauritzen analysis. Rhoditis concerned a suit under the Jones Act by a Greek seaman for injuries he suffered aboard a ship in the Port of New Orleans. Because the Supreme Court agreed with the trial and appellate courts that the Jones Act applied, the Court did not need to differentiate between subject matter jurisdiction and the plaintiffs entitlement to proceed under the Jones Act — both were present. But the opinion’s description of the Lauritzen analysis makes clear that the Court viewed the factors as bearing on applicability of the Act, rather than subject matter jurisdiction. The Court explicitly endorsed the description of the Lauritzen analysis offered by Judge Medina, who in Bartholomew v. Universe Tankships, Inc., 263 F.2d 437 (2d Cir.1959), had written: [T]he decisional process of arriving at a conclusion on the subject of the application of the Jones Act involves the ascertainment of the facts or groups of facts which constitute contacts between the transaction involved in the case and the United States, and then deciding whether or not they are substantial. Id. at 441 (quoted in Rhoditis, 398 U.S. at 309 n. 4, 90 S.Ct. at 1734 n. 4) (emphasis supplied here). Furthermore, in adding the shipowner’s base of operations to the analysis, the Court characterized it as “another factor of importance in determining whether the Jones Act is applicable.” Rhoditis, 398 U.S. at 309, 90 S.Ct. at 1734 (emphases supplied). It is true that the Court’s opinion in Rho-ditis twice used the word “jurisdiction.” However, the presence of two occurrences of the word “jurisdiction” is too ambiguous to mandate a change in the jurisprudence, particularly since the Court likely meant to refer to “legislative jurisdiction,” see id. at 314 & n. 2, 90 S.Ct. at 1736-37 & n. 2 (Harlan, J., dissenting) (which is also known as prescriptive jurisdiction, see Restatement (Thied) of FOREIGN Relations Law Pt. IV, at 230 (1987)). Moreover, subject matter jurisdiction was not presented in the Questions for Review in the petition for certiorari. See Petition for Writ of Cert. at 2-3, Hellenic Lines Ltd. v. Rhoditis, 412 F.2d 919 (5th Cir.1969) (No. 661), cert. granted, 396 U.S. 1000, 90 S.Ct. 554, 24 L.Ed.2d 492 (1970). Rather, the first Question, which is characteristic, was: Were the lower courts correct in applying the Jones Act to an action by a Greek seaman, himself a resident of Greece, against a Greek corporate owner for injury occurring aboard a Greek flag vessel, solely on the ground that the majority stock holder of the corporate ship owner, although himself a Greek citizen, resided in the United States as a representative of Greece to the United Nations. Id. (emphasis supplied). Moreover, treating the Lauritzen analysis as going to subject matter jurisdiction would be out of keeping with the approach of most jurisdictional inquiries, which tend to be straightforward threshold questions. “The dangers of a totality-of-the-eircumstances approach to jurisdiction would be obvious. An undefined test requires courts and litigants to devote substantial resources to determine whether a federal court may hear a specific case.” Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., — U.S. —, —, 115 S.Ct. 1043, 1057, 130 L.Ed.2d 1024 (1995) (Thomas, J., concurring in the judgment). The federal judiciary “pursues clarity and efficiency in other areas of federal subject-matter jurisdiction, and it should demand no less in admiralty and maritime law.” Id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1059. Thus, we conclude that the multi-factored analysis of Lauritzen, Romero, and Rhoditis is not to be used to determine whether a district court has subject matter jurisdiction over suits brought under the Jones Act or the general maritime law. Insofar as Matute v. Procoast Navigation, Ltd., 928 F.2d 627 (3d Cir.1991), holds that the Lauritzen factors govern subject matter jurisdiction over Jones Act or general maritime law claims, it is overruled. In so ruling, we agree with the cases from other circuits that have used the Lauritzen analysis to determine choice of law, not subject matter jurisdiction. See, e.g., Schexnider v. McDermott Int’l, Inc., 817 F.2d 1159 (5th Cir.1987) (affirming district court’s determination that Lauritzen dictated applicability of Australian law but requiring that district court retain jurisdiction and try the case); cf. also supra note 5 (citing concurring and dissenting opinions that correctly apprehend the issue). Concomitantly, we necessarily disagree with those cases from other circuits holding (without addressing the clear force of Romero) that the Lauritzen analysis may be used to dismiss a Jones Act claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See, e.g., Gutierrez v. Diana Investments Corp., 946 F.2d 455, 456-57 (6th Cir.1991) (per curiam) (affirming dismissal of suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction flowing from non-applicability of American law under Lauritzen analysis); Dracos v. Hellenic Lines, Ltd,., 762 F.2d 348, 349-50 (4th Cir.1985) (en banc) (same); Rodriguez v. Flota Mercante Grancolombiana, S.A., 703 F.2d 1069, 1071-72 (9th Cir.1983) (same). B. Federal Question and Admiralty Jurisdiction Although we have demonstrated that the Lauritzen inquiry is non-jurisdictional in nature, there remains the question whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiff’s claims, which the defendants have contested throughout this litigation. We conclude that it did, under both the federal question and the admiralty jurisdiction statutes. 1. Federal Question Jurisdiction Under 28 U.S.C. § 18S1 In its first Jones Act case, the Supreme Court held that the Jones Act, as a federal statute providing remedies for injured seamen, is subject to the usual rule for “arising-under” jurisdiction. See Panama R.R. Co. v. Johnson, 264 U.S. 375, 383-84, 44 S.Ct. 391, 392, 68 L.Ed. 748 (1924) (“This ease arose under a law of the United States [i.e., the Jones Act] and involved the requisite amount, if any was requisite; so there can be no doubt that the case was within the general jurisdiction conferred on the district courts by [the federal question statute]....”); see also Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. California, — U.S. —, —, 113 S.Ct. 2891, 2917, 125 L.Ed.2d 612 (1993) (Scalia, J., dissenting in part) (discussing Lauritzen and distinguishing subject matter jurisdiction from applicability of American law). Section 1331 provides that the federal “district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (1988). “The question of whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to [the Jones Act] is not whether [plaintiff] had a valid cause of action against the [defendants] under federal ... law. Rather, the subject matter jurisdiction analysis is one of whether the determination of the existence vel non of that cause of action is a question ‘arising under the ... laws ... of the United States.’ ” Airco Indus. Gases, Inc. v. Teamsters Health & Welfare Pension Fund, 850 F.2d 1028, 1032 (3d Cir.1988). Plaintiff clearly meets that standard, for whether she could assert claims under the Jones Act and general maritime law is a question of federal law. The district court clearly had jurisdiction over plaintiffs Jones Act claims. 2. Admiralty Jurisdiction Under 28 U.S.C. § 1383 Plaintiffs remaining claims against the defendants allege violations of the general maritime law duty to provide a seaworthy vessel. Again, although the Lauritzen factors are to be used in determining the applicability of substantive American maritime law, they do not go to subject matter jurisdiction. Rather, for non-statutory causes of action, we apply the customary admiralty jurisdiction analysis of Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. City of Cleveland, 409 U.S. 249, 93 S.Ct. 493, 34 L.Ed.2d 454 (1972), Foremost Insurance Co. v. Richardson, 457 U.S. 668, 102 S.Ct. 2654, 73 L.Ed.2d 300 (1982), and Sisson v. Ruby, 497 U.S. 358, 110 S.Ct. 2892, 111 L.Ed.2d 292 (1990), as recently reaffirmed in Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., — U.S. —, 115 S.Ct. 1043, 130 L.Ed.2d 1024 (1995). “[A] party sec. king to invoke federal admiralty jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1333(1) over a tort claim must satisfy conditions both of location and of connection with maritime activity.” Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1048. For tort claims, the locality test requires that “the tort occurred on navigable water or ... injury suffered on land was caused by a vessel on navigable water.” Id. Here, the locality test is “readily satisfied,” id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1049, for plaintiff’s injuries occurred in navigable waters and were caused there by a vessel, see id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1048. The maritime connection inquiry is two-fold. First, we “assess the general features of the type of incident involved to determine whether the incident has a potentially disrupting impact on maritime commerce.” Id. (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). Second, we “determine whether the general character of the activity giving rise to the incident shows a substantial relationship to traditional maritime activity.” Id, (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). With respect to the potential disruption prong, we describe the incident “at an intermediate level of possible generality.” Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1051. Following the Supreme Court’s lead, the “general features of the incident at issue here may be described as damage by a vessel in navigable water to [a seaman].” Id. “So characterized, ... this is the kind of incident that has a potentially disruptive impact on maritime commerce.” Id. Injury to a seaman in navigable waters “could lead to restrictions on the navigational use of the waterway,” id., during necessary investigations into the accident, which could be especially lengthy in a ease where the seaman’s injuries proved fatal. Additionally, a vessel’s need to replace an incapacitated seaman could lead to delays in commercial shipping. Although this case involves a pleasure boat rather than a vessel engaged in commercial shipping, that fact does not affect the jurisdictional result. In Sisson v. Ruby, the features of the incident were described as “a fire on a vessel docked at a marina on navigable waters,” 497 U.S. at 363, 110 S.Ct. at 2896, even though the “vessel” was a pleasure boat. The second prong of the maritime connection test is also easily met here. “In the second Sisson enquiry, we look to whether the general character of the activity giving rise to the incident shows a substantial relationship to traditional maritime activity.” Jerome B. Grubart, Inc., — U.S. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1051. “Navigation of boats in navigable waters clearly falls within the substantial relationship....” Id. Thus, the travels of the Long John qualify despite the short distances involved in its voyages. Cf. Sinclair v. Soniform, Inc., 935 F.2d 599, 600 (3d Cir.1991) (upholding admiralty jurisdiction over claim arising from failure of crew of vessel that transported plaintiff to detect symptoms of and administer proper care for decompression sickness suffered during scuba diving investigation in navigable waters); see also 1 Steven F. FREidell, Benedict on ADMIRALTY § 171, at 11-22 to -23 nn. 54-56 (7th ed. rev. 1995) (citing cases finding admiralty jurisdiction over claims that navigation errors or negligent operation of vessel injured others) [hereinafter Benedict on Admiralty], Since the locality and maritime connection tests were clearly met, the district court had admiralty jurisdiction over plaintiffs claims. III. Applicability of AMERICAN Law Under the Lauritzen Triad A. Introduction The questions whether American law actually applies under the Lauritzen triad, and if so whether the facts entitle the plaintiff to recover, arise only when, as here, a district court has subject matter jurisdiction over a Jones Act or American general maritime law claim. Moreover, Lauritzen analysis is a choice of law methodology, and, like a plaintiff’s need to prove one or more of the specific statutory elements of his or her claims, choice of law issues may be waived. Thus, if defendants do not argue that American law is inapplicable as a matter of choice of law, the court will not analyze the Laurit-zen factors. The plaintiff would need only to prove the particular elements of the cause of action, such as seaman status, employer status, negligence, causation, and damages (for a Jones Act ease). When a defendant does raise the Lauritzen issue, a plaintiff suing for personal injury damages under American maritime law must, as with any other cause of action, both establish the applicability of the law under which the case was brought and prove the elements of the cause of action. See, e.g., Larry Kramer, Rethinking Choice of Law, 90 ColumL.Rev. 277, 290 (1990); cf. G.E.J. Corp. v. Uranium Aire, Inc., 311 F.2d 749, 751 (9th Cir.1962) (“Generally a party must establish a fact which is essential to his claim or defense_”). If American law is not applicable, or if the plaintiff fails to prove one of the specific elements of the cause of action, the suit would, in the ordinary course, fail on the merits. B. Purposes of and Problems with the Lauritzen Analysis Determining whether or not American maritime law (statutory or general) applies with respect to a given incident entails a choice of law analysis, mandated by the Supreme Court as a matter of statutory construction. The Court adverted to choice of law principles because of the facial universality of the Jones Act, whose terms offer a remedy to “any seaman.” 46 U.S.CApp. § 688(a) (1988). In Lauritzen — which involved a lawsuit by a Danish sailor (for injuries suffered in the coastal waters off Cuba) against his employer, a Danish shipowner with whom he had contracted (in Danish)— the Court was concerned with restricting the “literal catholicity,” Lauritzen, 345 U.S. at 576, 73 S.Ct. at 925, of the Jones Act’s language to ensure that it would not apply to situations where “the seaman, the employment [and] the injury [lack] the slightest connection with the United States.” Id. at 577, 73 S.Ct. at 925. Thus, the first aim of Lauritzen analysis is to assure that American maritime law is not applied to incidents that lack any significant American connection. The second, related purpose of the analysis is to resolve and avoid conflicts with the maritime laws of other nations. See Lau-ritzen, 345 U.S. at 582, 73 S.Ct. at 928. To this end the Court invoked a presumption that in the absence of specific direction to the contrary, statutes of Congress would not be interpreted to violate international law. See 345 U.S. at 577, 581, 73 S.Ct. at 926, 927-28. Applying this presumption to the Jones Act, the Court in Lauritzen adopted a form of interest analysis to cabin the sweep of the Jones Act. See id. at 582, 73 S.Ct. at 928 (“The criteria, in general, appear to be arrived at from weighing of the significance of one or more connecting factors between the shipping transaction regulated and the national interest served by the assertion of authority.”) (emphasis supplied); id. at 577, 73 S.Ct. at 925 (extolling expertise of “courts long accustomed to dealing with admiralty problems in reconciling our own with foreign interests”). Courts ruling on the reach of American law were thus directed to consider seven factors that were, in part for pragmatic reasons, accorded various degrees of importance. In Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co., 358 U.S. at 354, 79 S.Ct. at 468, the Supreme Court emphasized that the Lauritzen factors were gleaned not from the terms of the Jones Act but rather from more general maritime law choice of law principles, and that they were intended to guide courts generally in applying maritime law regarding personal injury claims to incidents with foreign connections. See 358 U.S. at 382, 79 S.Ct. at 485. Finally, in Hellenic Lines Ltd. v. Rhoditis, the Supreme Court elaborated upon the Lauritzen analysis. In particular, the Court added an eighth factor for consideration, see 398 U.S. at 309, 90 S.Ct. at 1734, and attached a label to the types of contacts with the United States necessary to sustain applicability of American law in light of the aims of the Lauritzen analysis: “substantial” contacts. Id. at 309 n. 4, 90 S.Ct. at 1734 n. 4. In adopting this terminology, the Court placed its focus primarily, though not myopically, on whatever American contacts the transaction may have. See id. (“The deci-sional process ... involves the ascertainment of the facts or groups of facts which constitute contacts between the transaction involved in the case and the United States, and then deciding whether or not they are substantial.”) (quoting Bartholomew v. Universe Tankships, Inc., 263 F.2d 437, 441 (2d Cir.1959)); id. at 310, 90 S.Ct. at 1734 (“The [foreign contacts present] are in the totality of the circumstances of this case minor weights in the scales compared with the substantial and continuing contacts that this alien owner has with this country.”). Despite these developments, Lauritzen interest analysis remained a somewhat amorphous process. The Supreme Court stressed in Rkoditis that Lauritzen’s choice of law interest analysis is not mechanical, that the significance of each factor is variable, and that the enumerated factors are not exhaustive of potentially relevant considerations. See 398 U.S. at 308, 90 S.Ct. at 1734. The analysis is consequently imbued with a flexibility that permits courts to take account of the context of any incident that American law is alleged to govern, but this malleability has not always proven the surest guide. Indeed, one troubled trial court remarked that the ease law applying the Lauritzen triad had “made the relative significances of the ‘factors’ almost infinitely variable,” and it feared “that each ‘factor’s’ significance is sufficiently obscure or variable to justify any judicial conclusion.” Munusamy v. McClelland Engineers, Inc., 579 F.Supp. 149, 153 (E.D.Tex.), mandamus denied (with request for certification), 742 F.2d 837 (5th Cir.1984), order vacated, 784 F.2d 1313 (1986). Academic commentary has been similarly critical. See, e.g., Michael Boydston, Cruz v. Chesapeake Shipping and the Choice-of-Law Problem in Admiralty Actions, 27 Tex.Int’l L.J. 419, 434 (1992); Symeon Symeonides, Maritime Conflicts of Law from the Perspective of Modem Choice of Law Methodology, 7 Mae.Law. 223, 242-43 (1982) [hereinafter Sy-meonides, Maritime Conflicts ]. C. The Two Steps of the Lauritzen Choice of Law Inquiry The solution to the lack of guidance lies in approaching the Lauritzen analysis in a way that is faithful to its nature as a specialized form of interest analysis designed to ensure that American maritime law of personal injuries applies only where significant American interests are implicated and only in conformity with international law. Specifically, we interpret the notion of “substantial contacts” to embody these twin concerns in a two-step inquiry derived from international law. We conclude below that, in a Jones Act or general maritime law case, a court deciding whether American contacts are “substantial” (so that American law applies) must at the threshold ask whether one of the following factors is involved in the incident, in which ease there is a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction (which, we explain infra subsection 1, means that significant American interests are implicated): injury to an American seaman or a seaman with American dependents, injury in American territory, American defendants, an American flagged ship, or a contractual choice of law clause specifying American law. If so, the second step in the substantial contacts inquiry is for the court to ascertain whether application of American law is reasonable under the circumstances, in which case (as subsection 2 describes) international law is satisfied. In this case, as we explain below, the plaintiff succeeds on both steps of the inquiry. Her American citizenship satisfies the threshold requirement of a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction, and consideration of the Lauritzen factors reveals that the American interests at stake here are such that American law may be reasonably applied. Hence, the American contacts are “substantial” and the plaintiff was entitled to sue under American law. In the following analysis, we “rely on the Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law for the relevant principles of international law. Its standards appear fairly supported in the decisions of [the Supreme] Court construing international choice-of-law principles ([e.g.,] Lauritzen, Romero, and McCulloch [v. Sociedad Nacional de Marineros de Honduras, 372 U.S. 10, 83 S.Ct. 671, 9 L.Ed.2d 547 (1963) ])....” Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. California, — U.S. —, —, 113 S.Ct. 2891, 2920, 125 L.Ed.2d 612 (Scalia, J., dissenting in part). A primary reason for relying on the Restatement of Foreign Relation Law is that one of the Court’s chief motives for cabining the potentially unlimited scope of the Jones Act in Lauritzen was a concern that the legislation not violate norms of international law. While the dissent argues that the sections we rely on “were not meant to apply in a tort case such as this,” dissenting op. infra at 208 (quoting Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law Pt. IV, Ch. 1, Introd. Note, at 237 (1987) [hereinafter Restatement] ), the passage it quotes reveals that the Restatement’s rules are not unconditionally irrelevant to tort cases: they only “do not necessarily apply.” Id. (different emphasis supplied). However, “[i]n some circumstances, issues of private international law may also implicate issues of public international law, and many matters of private international law have substantial international significance and therefore may be considered foreign relations law[.]” Restatement § 101, cmt. c, at 23 (emphasis supplied). The Jones Act and American maritime law more generally are examples of just such matters, as is reflected by the Supreme Court’s concern in Lauritzen about the prospect of violating international law. See also infra note 17 (discussing difference between maritime laws and conventional tort law). Furthermore, the views of Lea Bril-mayer, one of the leading authorities in the area, support use of the Restatement of Foreign Relations Law here. Professor Bril-mayer has analyzed conflict of laws as “the domestic counterpart of the international law issue of the extraterritorial application of American law.” Lea Brilmayer, The Extraterritorial Application of American Law: A Methodological and Constitutional Appraisal, 50 L. & Contemp.Probs. 11, 11 (Summer 1987). Of particular relevance here, she has noted the unhelpfulness of the public/private distinction as regards international law: “Whether or not that distinction is viable, it does not describe the different roles of the two Restatements. Some private law cases, such as Lauritzen v. Larsen, fall under the Restatement of Foreign Relations Law.” Id. at 12 (footnote observing that Lauritzen is mentioned in the Restatement of Foreign Relations Law § 403, reporters’ note 2 omitted; emphasis supplied). 1. Do the Contacts Show a Basis for Prescriptive Jurisdiction? The first essential question in Lauritzen analysis is whether the suit implicates significant interests of the United States. In accordance with Lauritzen’s direction to construe American maritime law so as not to violate international law, we identify this preliminary inquiry with the question whether there is a basis for the United States to exercise prescriptive jurisdiction over the incident at issue. “International law has long recognized limitations on the authority of states to exercise jurisdiction to prescribe in circumstances affecting the interests of other states.” RestatemeNT, Introd. Note, at 230. The Restatement defines prescriptive jurisdiction— which is not to be confused with subject matter jurisdiction — as the authority of a state “to make its law applicable to the activities, relations, or status of persons, or the interests of person in things_” Restatement § 401(a). It lists several alternative bases for prescriptive jurisdiction. As a general matter (subject to restrictions we discuss below), nations may prescribe law with respect to (1)(a) conduct that, wholly or in substantial part, takes place within its territory; * * * * 5|4 * (c) conduct outside its territory that has or is intended to have substantial effect within its territory; [and] (2) the activities, interests, status, or relations of its nationals outside as well as within its territory[.] Restatement § 402. Additionally, the Restatement recognizes the authority of a state to apply its law to activities connected with vessels flying its flag. See id. § 502. The Lauritzen factors directly provide the answer to the first question in the Lauritzen choice of law interest analysis— whether (in the terminology of the Restatement) the United States has a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction with respect to the incident. When an American worker or a worker with American dependents is injured, application of United States law will affect the interests and relations of Americans, and there are likely to be substantial effects within the United States. Hence, application of American maritime law in suits for personal injuries to American seamen or seamen with American dependents affects the interests of nationals of the United States, thus providing a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction pursuant to Restatement § 402(2) and § 402(l)(c). Next, by definition, injuries occurring in American territory (including waters) fall within § 402(l)(a), which thus recognizes that the United States has a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction over such incidents. Where the defendants are American, a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction to apply United States law exists pursuant to § 402(2). Where the ship involved flies the American flag, § 502 of the Restatement recognizes prescriptive jurisdiction on the part of the United States. Finally, parties may generally consent to application of American law to govern their relations, as evidenced by a choice of law clause. Cf. National Ass’n of Sporting Goods Wholesalers, Inc. v. F.T.L. Mktg. Corp., 779 F.2d 1281, 1285 (7th Cir.1985) (citing Casio, Inc. v. S.M. & R., Co., 755 F.2d 528, 531 (7th Cir.1985)). In such cases it may be technically imprecise to speak of prescriptive jurisdiction, for American law applies not by virtue of the sovereign power of the United States but rather by the choice of the parties. However it is styled, a reasonable, mutual, ex ante choice of American law would create an American interest in applying the Jones Act or American general maritime law sufficient to meet the threshold requirement. In sum, then, we hold that a plaintiff generally must establish one of the following to demonstrate a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction, which under the Lauritzen analysis is a threshold requirement for American maritime law to apply: (a) injury to an American seaman or a seaman with American dependents, (b) injury in American territory, (e) American defendants, (d) an American flagged ship, or (e) a contractual choice of law clause specifying American law. See also Bailey v. Dolphin Int’l, Inc., 697 F.2d 1268, 1278 n. 25 (5th Cir.1983) (“[A] sufficient American interest in a particular transaction can rest on the presence of even one substantial contact between the transaction and this country_”), overruled on other grounds by In re Air Crash Disaster Near New Orleans, 821 F.2d 1147 (5th Cir.1987) (en banc). The plaintiffs threshold burden of proving one of these contacts with the United States arises when a defendant alleges that American law is inapplicable under the Lauritzen triad. The plaintiff must proffer evidence from which a jury might conclude that one of the specified factors supporting prescriptive jurisdiction exists, and if the evidence introduced by either side (as to the existence vel non of one of the pertinent United States contacts) as a whole does not establish by a preponderance that such a factor exists, the court must hold American law inapplicable. In the present case, the Lauritzen factors clearly exhibit a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction. It is uncontested that Neely, the injured seaman, is an American citizen. This American contact is among those we have identified as implicating significant American interests, and we turn therefore to the second step of the inquiry. 2. Are the Contacts Such That Application of American Law Would Be Reasonable? Where plaintiffs have shown that there is a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction, significant American interests are implicated, and courts must consider the second goal of the Laurit-zen analysis in determining whether American law is applicable. The second step in the Lauritzen choice of law inquiry is concerned with resolving or avoiding conflicts -with foreign law by construing American law in harmony with international law. We identify the pertinent inquiry primarily with the restriction on prescriptive jurisdiction described by § 403(1) of the Restatement. Section 403(1) expresses a limitation on the exercise of prescriptive jurisdiction. It specifies that “[e]ven when one of the bases for jurisdiction under § 402 is present, a state may not exercise jurisdiction to prescribe law with respect to a person or activity having connections with another state when the exercise of such jurisdiction is unreasonable,” Restatement § 403(1); in determining whether it is reasonable to apply American law, courts are to consider “all relevant factors,” id. § 403(2), which includes the American contact that provided a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction. Thus, the plaintiffs burden of proving the applicability of American law translates at this step to a burden of proving reasonableness. This burden does not require the plaintiff to show the absence of foreign contacts, or to bear a burden of proof with respect to each of the Lauritzen factors, as the defendants urge, see Reply Br. of Appellees/Cross-Appellants at 3. While there is a dearth of precedent concerning the scope of the plaintiffs burdens when the defendant invokes the Lauritzen triad, logic dictates that the plaintiff need adduce evidence concerning only those factors that he or she believes support the reasonableness of applying American law. The individual factors are not required elements of a Jones Act or general maritime law claim — the Supreme Court has made clear that no particular factor need reflect a contact with the United States for a plaintiff to have a claim under American law, see, e.g., Rhoditis, 398 U.S. 306, 90 S.Ct. 1731 (applying American law despite foreign employer, foreign-flag ship, foreign plaintiff, and contract in foreign language specifying foreign law) — but rather are subsidiary indicia of the reasonableness of applying American law. Moreover, general choice of law analyses do not deem a plaintiff responsible for bringing forth information on all circumstances — whether helpful or harmful to the plaintiffs case — that might inform the choice of law. For all these reasons, we decline to impose such a requirement here. Instead, once the plaintiff has established the existence of a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction, it is incumbent upon defendants to prove the existence of foreign contacts. This allocation of burdens comports with the remedial policies behind the Jones Act (and the unseaworthiness cause of action), which is designed for the protection of seamen. Information relevant to a great variety of the circumstances that could figure in a Laurit-zen analysis may be in the hands of defendants. We therefore believe that it would be at odds with Congress’s solicitous intent for courts to require seamen to make a negative showing with respect to factors on which they do not rely in establishing the reasonableness of applying American law. If the court concludes that the evidence as a whole does not establish the existence of any foreign contacts that would provide a foreign nation with a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction, the plaintiff immediately prevails on the choice of law issue: a preponderance of — indeed, all — the evidence shows that the application of American law in such a case is reasonable. As long as the plaintiff has shown a basis for prescriptive jurisdiction, cf. DeMateos v. Texaco, Inc., 562 F.2d 895, 900 (3d Cir.1977) (“[D]ue process require[s] the identification of significant American interests before an American sovereignty ... [may] export its laws to foreign transactions.... ”), American interests are implicated, and maritime law may apply unless concerns about conflicts with the law of other interested nations compel the conclusion that this would not be reasonable. Where there are no significant