One Year Passenger Ticket Limitation To File Suit Applied To Claims Against Independent Contractor Who Ran The Spa On The Ship. Also Filing Suit In State Court Did Not Toll The Time Period To File Suit In Federal Court.
SUE LEVICK, Plaintiff, v. STEINER TRANSOCEAN LIMITED, Defendant.
CASE NO. 04-21910-CIV-LENARD/KLEIN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OFFLORIDA, MIAMI DIVISION
2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14770
July 13, 2005, Decided
July 13, 2005, Filed
PRIOR HISTORY: Levick v. Steiner Transocean Ltd., 228 F.R.D. 671, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11350 (S.D. Fla., 2005)
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff claimant brought a negligence action against defendant, a provider of spa services, after the claimant was injured when stepping down from a massage table while a passenger on a cruise line. The provider filed a motion to dismiss, which the court construed as a motion for summary judgment.
OVERVIEW: The provider contended that the claimant's action was barred by the shortened one-year limitation period under the cruise ticket contract, as allowed by 46 U.S.C.S. app. § 183b(a). The court granted summary judgment in favor of the provider because there were no material facts in dispute relevant to the one-year limitation period. The court found that the provider could benefit from the shortened filing time because the one year period was lawful under § 183b(a) and the ticket contract clearly notified the claimant and other passengers of the types of liability exclusions and the types of entities who could benefit. The contract included independent contractors and detailed the type of contractors covered, including spa and masseuse services. Thus, the provider was clearly the type of independent contractor or concessionaire covered by the contract. Equitable tolling was not applicable because the claimant chose to pursue her action solely in the state court system without preserving her claim by filing in federal court. The claimant was aware of the shortened time period before its expiration, and no inequitable event prevented her from timely filing in federal court.
OUTCOME: The court granted the provider's motion to dismiss, construed as a motion for summary judgment, and closed the case. The court denied as moot all pending motions.
