Marx v. Government Of Guam

866 F.2d 294 1989 A.M.C. 896 Robert MARX, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GOVERNMENT OF GUAM, Claimant-Appellant, and Two Wrecked and Abandoned Vessels, (believed to be the NUESTRA SENORA DEL PILAR and NUESTRA SENORA DEL BUEN VIAJE), etc.; in rem, Defendant-Appellant. No. 87-2713. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Sept. 15, 1988. Decided Jan. 24, 1989. R. Happy Rons, Asst. Atty. Gen., Government of Guam, Agana, Guam, for defendant-appellant. Richard L. Johnson, Kelmm, Blair, Sterling & Johnson, Agana, Guam, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Guam. Before WISDOM, * BOOCHEVER and THOMPSON, Circuit Judges. DAVID R. THOMPSON, Circuit Judge: 1 * INTRODUCTION 2 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 3 Appellee…