Forum Selection Clause Enforced In Passenger's Claim Against Cruise Line
IRENE VALENTI and JOSEPH VALENTI, Plaintiffs, - against -NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE, Defendant.
04 Civ. 8895 (RWS)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6811
April 21, 2005, Decided
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff passengers filed an action against defendant cruiseline alleging that the passenger wife suffered personal injuries due to the negligence of the crew on a cruise ship. The cruiseline filed a motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) and 12(c), claiming that the forum selection clause contained on the ticket purchased by the passengers precluded the passengers from bring a lawsuit in the forum.
OVERVIEW: The cruiseline maintained a principal place of business and corporate headquarters in Florida. The passengers purchased and used a ticket for a voyage with the cruiseline. The ticket, retained by the passengers, contained a contract of passage, including a forum selection clause that required all litigation to go forward in Florida. The passengers did not reject the ticket contract even though the had the tickets at their home for almost a month before the cruise. The passengers had an opportunity to cancel the contract without facing a penalty. The court held that the source of substantive law for the action was federal maritime law. Under federal maritime law, a forum selection clause in a maritime contract was prima facie valid unless there was some independent justification for refusing to enforce it. The passengers had not provided any grounds for justifying non-enforcement of the forum selection clause that was reasonably communicated to the passengers. Additionally the court found that the cruiseline's requirement that litigation be initiated in a court in Florida was fair and reasonable.
OUTCOME: The court granted the cruiseline's motion to dismiss.
