Brown v. Carnival Corp.

215 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185391, 2016 WL 8604328
District Court, S.D. Florida·Decided October 18, 2016·No. Case No. 1:16-cv-21448-UU·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

ORDER

Ursula Ungaro, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

'THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Amended Complaint. D.E. 41.

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 Amended Complaint. D.E. 38. Plaintiff, Delena Brown (“Plaintiff’), is an individual who was a paid passenger aboard Defendant, Carnival Corporation’s (“Defendant”) vessel, the Carnival Conquest, during the relevant time period. Id. [1315] ¶ 8. Defendant owned, operated, managed, maintained, and/or controlled the Carnival Conquest. Id. ¶ 43.

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. ¶ 9. The excursion was operated by Windfeather Charters NV and/or Mi Dushi Sail & Snorkeling Tours Dutch Caribbean (collectively, the “Excursion Operator” ”). Id. ¶ 19. The excursion consisted of an approximately a five-and-a-half hour tour, which stopped at three different places for snorkeling. Id. ¶ 20. After the first snorkeling stop, Plaintiff was returning to her seat on the upper deck. Id. ¶ 21. The steps did not have a handrail from the upper deck to the lower deck; instead, the handrail was only located on the top portion of the steps, and the bottom portion of the steps did not have a handrail. Id. ¶21. 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. ¶ 25. As a result, Plaintiff fell to the bottom deck and sustained injuries, including a broken ankle, fractured fibula, and broken wrist. Id.

Plaintiff alleges that Defendant made information available and/or distributed information to Plaintiff that Defendant’s excursions, including the excursion that Plaintiff participated in, were safe. Id. ¶ 13. In addition, the promotional material and information concerning the excursion did not require or recommend any particular level of boating experience required to participate in the excursion. Id. Plaintiff further alleges that the Excursion Operator failed to provide tour guides and/or employees who would (1) ensure and/or require that passengers and/or their snorkel equipment be dry when boarding, (2) assist participants like Plaintiff in boarding and/or getting to the upper deck, and/or (3) instruct participants like Plaintiff on how to board and/or get to the upper deck in a safe manner and that Defendant is responsible for the failures of the Excursion Operator on theories of negligent hiring and retention, apparent agency and agency by estoppel, joint venture and third party beneficiary. Id. ¶ 23.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 22, 2016, Plaintiff filed her Complaint, alleging the following claims: (I) Negligence, (II) Apparent Agency or Agency by Estoppel, (III) Joint Venture, and (IV) Third-Party Beneficiary. D.E. 1. Defendant moved to dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint on the grounds that Plaintiff failed to state plausible claims. D.E. 18.

On August 15, 2016, this Court issued her Order granting Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. D.E. 35. In the Order, the Court dismissed Counts I through IV on the grounds that Plaintiff failed to state plausible claims. Id. The Court ordered Plaintiff to re-file her Complaint to correct the deficiencies addressed in the Court’s Order by August 26, 2016. Id.

On August 26, 2016, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint, alleging the following claims: (I) Negligence, (II) Negligent Hiring and Retention, (III) Negligence based on Apparent Agency or Agency by Estop-pel, (IV) Negligence based on Joint Venture, and (V) Third-Party Beneficiary. D.E. 38. On September 9, 2016, Defendant filed its Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Amended Complaint re-raising arguments similar to the arguments raised its prior Motion to Dismiss. D.E. 41.

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 [1316] 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)).

ANALYSIS

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

Count I: Negligence

Similar to its prior Motion to Dismiss, Defendant argues that Plaintiffs negligence claim should be dismissed because: '(1) it imposes heightened duties on Defendant beyond the duty to warn; and (2) it fails to allege sufficient facts showing that Defendant knew or should have known of any dangerous condition giving rise to a duty to warn.

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Brown v. Carnival Corp., 215 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185391, 2016 WL 8604328 (S.D. Fla. 2016).

215 F. Supp. 3d 1312 (Brown v. Carnival Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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