Forum Selection Clause In Cruise Line Ticket Enforced Against Minors, Case Transferred To Southern District Of Florida
VEGA-PEREZ, et al., Plaintiff(s) v. CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES, et al., Defendant(s)
CIVIL NO. 04-2358(JAG)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
361 F. Supp. 2d 1; 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4156
March 16, 2005, Decided
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Defendants, a cruise line and others, filed a motion, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), to dismiss plaintiff parents' action for personal injuries based on improper venue.
OVERVIEW: The parents authorized their sons to take a cruise trip with their grandparents and other relatives. While playing at a close distance from their relatives, one of the sons tripped on the rug and slit his left cheek with an air hockey machine that had a protruding piece of metal at the bottom part of the machine. Defendants moved to dismiss the action because the passage contract contained a forum selection clause that designated Miami, Florida, as the exclusive forum for resolution of disputes arising from the contract of passage. Defendants claimed that the ticket contract, as well as the travel brochure, reasonably communicated the forum selection clause to the passengers. The court held that, given the fact that the parents presumably became aware of the forum selection clause at the moment they received the travel tickets, they were reasonably communicated the terms and conditions of the passage contract. Further, the court found that the clause was fair and reasonable. The court also found that the enforcement of the forum selection clause would not have gravely inconvenienced the parents since Miami was a relatively close litigation forum to Puerto Rico.
OUTCOME: The court denied defendants' motion to dismiss for improper venue, but transferred the case to the United States District Court of Southern District of Florida.
