Treasure Finders Lose to Spain – Was the Ship on a Sovereign Mission ?

This lawyer does not see too many opinions on treasure salvaged from Spanish galleons, so I’ll mention one that popped up this week. This popular press article by Mitch Stacy summarizes an 11th Circuit ruling holding that treasure salvors must turn over the massive treasure they found on a Spanish galleon. The treasure must be turned over to Spain based on a form of sovereign immunity arising from the ship . The opinion is here.

#Offtopic