Brown v. Carnival Corp.

202 F. Supp. 3d 1332, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130878, 2016 WL 4613385
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 15, 2016
DocketCase No. 1:16-cv-21448-UU
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 202 F. Supp. 3d 1332 (Brown v. Carnival Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. Carnival Corp., 202 F. Supp. 3d 1332, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130878, 2016 WL 4613385 (S.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

URSULA UNGARO, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Defendant Carnival Corporation’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint (D.E. 18) and Windfeather Charter NV’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction (D.E. 25).

THE COURT has considered the Motion, the pertinent portions of the record and is otherwise fully advised in the premises.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are taken from Plaintiffs Complaint. D.E. 1. Plaintiff, Delena Brown (“Plaintiff’), is an individual who was a paid passenger aboard Defendant, Carnival Corporation’s (“Carnival”) vessel, the Carnival Conquest, during the relevant time period. Id. ¶46. Carnival owned, operated, managed, maintained, and/or controlled the Carnival Conquest. Id. ¶43. Defendants, Windfeather Charters NV, Rumbaruba Tours NV, and Mi Dushi Sal & Snorkeling Tours Dutch Caribbean (“Defendant Tour Operators”), are foreign corporations who owned and/or operated the subject excursion, “Mi Dushi Sail & Snorkel with Lunch Tour,” in Catalina Bay, Aruba. Id. ¶ 46.

On August 20, 2015, Plaintiff participated in an off-shore excursion that was offered on the Carnival Conquest, known as the “Mi Dushi Sail & Snorkel with Lunch Tour.” Id. ¶ 53. The excursion consisted of an approximately six-hour tour, which stopped at three different places for snorkeling. Id. ¶ 66. After the first snorkeling stop, Plaintiff was returning to her seat on the upper deck. Id. ¶ 67. Plaintiff attempted to use the upper rail to pull herself to the top step, but her hand slipped and she fell off balance and over the ledge. Id. As a result, Plaintiff fell to the bottom deck and sustained injuries, including a broken ankle, fractured fibula, and broken wrist. Id. ¶¶ 67, 70.

Plaintiff alleges that Carnival recommended the tour to Plaintiff, but never disclosed the magnitude of physical challenges and dangers that Plaintiff might encounter on the excursion. Id. ¶ 62. Plaintiff contends that Carnival represented the shore excursion as being a “moderate” shore excursion. Id. ¶ 64. Plaintiff further alleges that neither Carnival nor the Defendant Tour Operators provided adequate warnings about the hazards involved in her climbing the steps to the upper deck, and Defendants failed to provide alternative [1337]*1337safe mechanisms to allow its passengers to safely embark the tour boat. Id.. ¶ 68.

On April 22, 2016, Plaintiff - filed her Complaint, alleging the following claims: (1) Negligence against all Defendants, (2) Apparent Agency or Agency by Estoppel against Carnival, (3) Joint Venture between the Defendant Tour Operators and Carnival, and (4) Third-Party Beneficiary. D.E. 1. Carnival moves to dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint on the grounds that Plaintiff failed to state a claim. D.E. 18. Defendant, Windfeather Charter NV (“Windfeather”), moves to dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. D.E. 25. The Court considers each Motion in Turn.

I. FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM

A. Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) provides that a plaintiffs pleading “must contain .,. a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). The Supreme Court has stated that a plaintiff must submit “more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). In order “[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Id. (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)).

In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, the “plausibility standard is met only where the facts alleged enable ‘the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’ ” Simpson v. Sanderson Farms, Inc., 744 F.3d 702, 708 (11th Cir.2014) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937)). “Where a complaint pleads facts that are ‘merely consistent-with’ a defendant’s liability, it ‘stops-short of the line between possibility and plausibility of ‘entitlement to relief.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct, 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955)). Although “[a] plaintiff need not plead ‘detailed factual allegations[,] ... a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do,’ ” and the plaintiff must‘offer in support of its claim “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘raise a right to relief above the speculative level.’ ” Simpson, 744 F.3d at 708 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955)).

B. Analysis

In its Motion to Dismiss, ’ Carnival argues that each of the four claims asserted against Carnival are deficient and should be dismissed. The Court separately considers each claim and the parties’ arguments pertaining to each claim.

1. Count I: Negligence

Carnival argues that Plaintiffs negligence claim should be dismissed because: (1) it imposes heightened duties on Carnival beyond the duty to warn; (2) it fails to allege sufficient facts showing that Carnival knew or should have known of any dangerous condition giving rise to a duty to warn; and (3) to the extent Plaintiff is attempting to bring a claim for negligent selection and retention, it should be dismissed for failure to plead a prima facie case.

To state a negligence claim against a shipowner, Plaintiff is required to plead the following: (1) Defendant had a duty to protect Plaintiff from a particular injury; (2) Defendant breached that duty; (3) the breach actually and proximately caused Plaintiffs injury; and (4) Plaintiff suffered actual harm. Chaparro v. Carnival Corp., 693 F.3d 1333, 1336 (11th Cir.[1338]*13382012) (citing Zivojinovich v. Barner, 525 F.3d 1059, 1067 (11th Cir.2008)). While cruise ship owners and operators owe their passengers “the duty of exercising reasonable care under the circumstances of each case[,]” Kermarec v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, 358 U.S. 625, 630, 79 S.Ct. 406, 3 L.Ed.2d 550 (1959), the operator “is not an issuer of its passengers’ safety ... There thus must be some failure to exercise due care before liability may be imposed.” Long v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., 982 F.Supp.2d 1313, 1315 (S.D.Fla.2013).

A. Duty of Care

The Court first considers whether Plaintiff sufficiently pleaded the appropriate duty of care in her Complaint. Generally, ship owners and operators do not owe a heightened or special duty of care to their passengers.

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202 F. Supp. 3d 1332, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130878, 2016 WL 4613385, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-carnival-corp-flsd-2016.