Cruise Ship Law

JUDITH LIPFORD, Plaintiff, vs. CARNIVAL CORPORATION, a foreign corporation, d/b/a CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES, Defendant.

Case No. 04-21120-CIV-GRAHAM
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, MIAMI DIVISION
2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24530
November 23, 2004, Decided
November 24, 2004, Filed

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff passenger filed a motion to stay her action for personal injuries suffered in the high seas against defendant cruise line pending the resolution of a pending, identical state court case.

OVERVIEW: The passenger alleged that she was injured on an excursion while on a cruise. Pursuant to a forum selection clause, all disputes had to be instituted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida within one year. The passenger filed suit in state court, and simultaneously filed a "cautionary complaint" with the court. The state court held that the forum selection clause was invalid. The passenger sought a stay because of the expiration of the one year limitations period and the possibility that the state court's ruling invalidating the forum selection clause might have been overturned. The court held that because the stay would have remained in place until the completion of the trial and appeals in the state court case, the requested period of the stay was indefinite and therefore unwarranted. The passenger's ability to sue the cruise line within the one year period was not dependent upon the court's granting of a stay, but rather on the passenger's decision to sue in state court. Having made the decision to avail herself of the benefits of the state forum, the passenger was not justified in delaying an identical case in federal court indefinitely.

OUTCOME: The court denied the passenger's motion to stay the case and dismissed the action without prejudice.