Cruise Ship Law

Thomas Leslie, etc., et al., Appellants, vs. Carnival Corp., etc., et al., Appellees
COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, THIRD DISTRICT
2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 9; 33 Fla. L. Weekly D 105
January 2, 2008, Opinion Filed

PROCEDURAL POSTURE Appellant passengers commenced maritime personal injury actions against appellee cruise line in the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County (Florida). The court dismissed the complaints. The passengers appealed.

OVERVIEW: The passengers contended that the trial court erred by enforcing a forum-selection clause in form contracts issued by the cruise line to the passengers, two of the cruise line's fare-paying customers, prior to embarking on their respective cruises. The clause directed that passenger law suits arising out of a passenger's cruise were to be filed exclusively in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The passengers' chief grievance regarding the clause was that it stripped them of their constitutional right to a jury trial, and instead afforded them a jury trial in their federal forum only with the consent of both parties, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 39(c). The cruise line represented in its answer brief that it had no intention of opposing the passengers' request for a jury trial in their pending federal actions. On appeal, the court interpreted the cruise line's statement to mean that if the United States District Court lifted the stays in the passengers' federal admiralty actions, the cruise line would consent to a jury trial in their cases. The court concluded that the forum-selection clause was enforceable under the general maritime law.

OUTCOME: The orders of dismissal were affirmed.