In this case, the plaintiff Sunglory Maritime Ltd and Aeolian Investments SA sought an award of maritime 'salvage' under either general maritime law or the Salvage Convention 1989 for lending aid to a helicopter that landed aboard an anchored vessel after experiencing unusual vibrations while in the air.

The plaintiff submitted Professor Martin Davies' expert report and testimony on the Salvage Convention 1989. The defendant filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude the expert testimony on the basis that the expert report testimony amounted to no more than legal conclusions, which are inadmissible as evidence. The plaintiff argued that r 44.1 of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure allows courts to consider any relevant material in determining foreign law, even if the Federal Rules of Evidence would exclude such materials. The defendant argued that the Salvage Convention 1989 is not 'foreign law' as contemplated by r 44.1, because it was adopted by the United States, and therefore it was converted into the ‘the supreme law of the land’ and should be characterized as domestic law.

Held: The ratification of a treaty or other adoption of international law per se by the United States does not necessarily transform international law into domestic law, and therefore the expert report and testimony is admissible.