Passenger Case Against Cruise Line Dismissed Under Forum Selection Clause In The Passenger Ticket
LINDA REYNOLDS-NAUGHTON, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. NORWEGIANCRUISE LINE LIMITED, d/b/a/ NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE, Defendant, Appellee.
No. 04-1183
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
386 F.3d 1; 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 19372; 2004 AMC 2370
September 14, 2004, Decided
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff passenger filed a negligence claim in admiralty against defendant cruise ship owner in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The owner filed suit in the Southern District of Florida, and filed a motion to dismiss the Massachusetts case pursuant to a forum selection clause in the parties' contract. The Massachusetts court granted the motion to dismiss; the passenger appealed.
OVERVIEW: After a door closed on her hand, the passenger lost part of a middle finger. Her passenger -ticket contract contained a forum selection clause which she claimed was invalid under the Limitation of Vessel Owner's Liability Act, former 46 U.S.C.S. app. § 183(c). The appellate court noted that U.S. Supreme Court had read the Act as allowing forum selection clauses that limited a passenger's choice of venue, so long as a court of competent jurisdiction remained available to the passenger. Examining the legislative history of the Act, the appellate court held that later amendments to it had not legislatively overruled the Supreme Court's reading of the Act.
OUTCOME: The judgment was affirmed.
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