Cruise Ship Law

Appeals Court Holds That Florida Constitution Provides That Florida's (East Coast) Territorial Waters Extend To The Outside Of The Gulf Stream (Well Beyond Three Miles But Possibly Limited By Twelve Miles) So That A Cruise Ship's Doctor Who Allegedly Committed Malpractice 11.7 Nautical Miles East Of Florida's Coastline Is Subject To Florida's Long Arm Jurisdiction

ROGER C. BENSON and PATRICIA HARDY-SMITH, individually and as Co-Personal Representatives of the Estate of NOAH BENJAMIN BENSON, a minor, Appellants, vs. NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE LIMITED, and CARLA VON BENECKE, M.D., Appellees.

CASE NO. 3D01-1845
COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, THIRD DISTRICT
2003 Fla. App. LEXIS 225; 28 Fla. L. Weekly D 213
January 15, 2003, Opinion Filed

PRIOR HISTORY: An appeal from the Circuit Court for Dade County, Judith L. Kreeger, Judge. LOWER TRIBUNAL NO. 99-4704.

DISPOSITION: Reversed and remanded.

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: The Circuit Court, Dade County (Florida), granted appellee ship's doctor's motion to dismiss based on a lack of personal jurisdiction over her where appellant estate representative alleged the ship's doctor committed medical malpractice after the estate representative's decedent suffered an allergic reaction onboard ship and died while the ship was 11.7 nautical miles east of the Florida shore. The estate representative appealed.

OVERVIEW: The decedent was a passenger traveling on appellee cruise line's ship. While on board, the decedent suffered an allergic reaction and could not breathe. The ship's doctor attempted to insert a breathing tube, but he died. The estate representative sued both the cruise line and the ship's doctor. The ship's doctor moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction since she was a South African national. Since no dispute existed that the ship's doctor was a nonresident of Florida, the question was whether her alleged medical malpractice occurred within Florida's territorial boundaries. Expert evidence established that the ship was located 11.7 nautical miles east of Florida's coastline. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss after concluding that the ship was outside Florida territorial waters. After that decision was entered, the appellate court found that Florida's boundaries were established in Fla. Const. art. II, § 1 (1968) and included the edge of the Gulf Stream, which was 14 nautical miles east of Florida's coastline. Accordingly, it found that the ship was in Florida's territorial waters and that long arm personal jurisdiction existed over her.

OUTCOME: The judgment dismissing the ship's doctor from the lawsuit was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings.