Shipowner Liable For Injuries On Tender To Shore Excursion Even Though Tender Operated By Third Party. Trial Court Erred In Directly Verdict Even Where Condition Was Open And Obvious Since Shipowner Should Have Reasonably Anticipated The Condition
SAMUEL SAMUELOV, Appellant, vs. CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES, INC.,Appellee.
CASE NO. 3D03-215
COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, THIRD DISTRICT
2003 Fla. App. LEXIS 18356; 28 Fla. L. Weekly D 2763
December 3, 2003, Opinion Filed
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: The Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County (Florida) granted partial summary judgment to appellant passenger, and against appellee cruise ship, on the passenger's breach of a non-delegable duty claim. At trial, the cruise ship was granted a directed verdict on the remaining claims. Both parties sought further review.
OVERVIEW: The passenger appealed and the cruise ship cross-appealed the judgments entered. The cruise ship argued that, in accordance with its disclaimer of liability, it had no duty to the passenger while he was on a shore excursion that was operated by an independent contractor. The appeals court disagreed. The transportation provided to the passenger between the cruise ship and the shoreline was a tender, and the cruise ship had a non-delegable duty to provide passengers with safe transportation, under adequate supervision, to and from the ship to shore. With regard to the main appeal, the passenger alleged that the condition that caused his injury was open and obvious. The appeals court agreed. The fact that passengers had to cross the wet, slippery exposed upper deck of the tender should have been reasonably anticipated by the cruise ship. Therefore, the trial court should have allowed the case to proceed to a jury verdict on this issue.
OUTCOME: Partial summary judgment entered in favor of the passenger was affirmed. However, the directed verdict entered in favor of the cruise ship was reversed, and the case was remanded.
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