Cvoro v. Carnival Corp.

234 F. Supp. 3d 1220, 2017 A.M.C. 812, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7801, 2017 WL 216020
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJanuary 17, 2017
DocketCase No. 16-21559-CIV-MORENO
StatusPublished

This text of 234 F. Supp. 3d 1220 (Cvoro 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
Cvoro v. Carnival Corp., 234 F. Supp. 3d 1220, 2017 A.M.C. 812, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7801, 2017 WL 216020 (S.D. Fla. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION AND DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS

FEDERICO A. MORENO, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THE MATTER was referred to the Honorable John J. O’Sullivan, United States Magistrate Judge for a Report and Recommendation on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, filed on June 10, 2016. The Magistrate Judge filed a Report and Recommendation (D.E. No.30) filed on November 28, 2016. The Court has reviewed the entire file and record. The Court has made a de novo review of the issues that the objections (D.E. No. 34) to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation present, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, it is

ADJUDGED that United States Magistrate Judge John O’Sullivan’s Report and Recommendation is AFFIRMED and ADOPTED. Accordingly, it is

ADJUDGED that the motion to dismiss is DENIED. Defendant must file an answer to the complaint by January 26, 2017. Failure to do so may result in default.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

JOHN J. O’SULLIVAN, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

THIS CAUSE comes before the Court on the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint (DE# 8, 6/10/16). This matter was referred to the undersigned by the Honorable Federico A. Moreno, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b). (DE# 19, 7/13/16). Having reviewed the motion, response, and reply, the evidence in the record, and the applicable law, the undersigned respectfully RECOMMENDS the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint (DE# 8, 6/10/16) be DENIED.

INTRODUCTION

The plaintiff is a Serbian national who worked as an employee on the defendant’s vessel, Carnival Dream, and sustained personal injuries as a result of the medical malpractice of a shore side physician selected by the defendant to fulfill its maintenance and cure obligations in treating her for a condition arising during her service to her vessel. Pursuant to the mandatory arbitration provision, the choice of law provision and a forum-selection clause in the parties’ Seafarer Agreement, the arbitration occurred in Monaco and the arbiter applied Panamanian law. The Arbitral Award dismissed the plaintiffs claims. The plaintiff filed a three-count Complaint in this Court in May 2016. On July 7, 2016, [1224]*1224the defendant filed an action to enforce the Arbitral Award in Monaco.

In the present action, the plaintiff requests this Court to vacate and/or alternatively to refuse to recognize and enforce the foreign arbitral award under Article V of the Convention of Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“Convention”) on the grounds that its enforcement would be contrary to the public policy of the-United States under the prospective waiver doctrine (Count I), Additionally, the plaintiff seeks damages for personal injuries for negligence under the Jones Act (Count II) and failure to provide proper and appropriate care under maritime law (Count III).

The defendant seeks dismissal of this action pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the following grounds: 1) the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs vacatur as the Convention does not recognize actions for vacatur of an arbitral award and her claims for Jones Act negligence and maintenance and cure are time-barred; 2) the international abstention doctrine compels abstention in favor of the recognition proceeding in Monaco; 3) the plaintiffs claims are barred by res judica-ta-, and 4) even if the plaintiffs demand for vacatur of the arbitral award is entertained on the merits, the plaintiff fails to prove any of the recognized defenses to the award under Article V of the Convention.

The plaintiff opposes the defendant’s motion to dismiss and relies on Article Y(2)(b) of the Convention, the Jones Act and U.S. maritime law to support the claims asserted in this action. The plaintiff contends that the crux of the issue is whether the arbiter’s express refusal to consider the plaintiffs vicarious liability claim against the defendant under the Jones Act for the negligence of the shore side doctor the defendant selected to treat the plaintiff rendered the arbiter’s award, which dismissed her claim, violative of U.S. public policy under the prospective waiver doctrine and/or effective vindication exception. The plaintiff argues that the arbitral award is unenforceable in the United States and that the plaintiff should be allowed to proceed with her Jones Act claim in this Court. See Convention, art, V. 2(b).

The undersigned has reviewed the defendant’s motion, the plaintiffs response, the defendant’s reply, the plaintiffs sur-reply, the defendant’s notice of supplemental authority and the plaintiffs response to the defendant’s notice of supplemental authority. The motion is fully briefed and ripe for disposition.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Rule 12(h)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides: “Whenever it appears by suggestion of the parties or otherwise that the court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter, the court shall dismiss the action.” Fed, R. Civ. P. Rule 12(h)(3). Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows a complaint to be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed. R. Civ.' P. 12(b)(6). To survive a motion to dismiss, the complaint must “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Am. Dental Ass’n v. Cigna Corp., 605 F.3d 1283, 1289 (11th Cir. 2010)(quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). If the face of the complaint reveals that the claim is time-barred, Rule 12(b)(6) permits dismissal on statute of limitations grounds. La Grasta v. First Union Sec., Inc., 358 F.3d 840, 845 (11th Cir. 2004).

[1225]*1225ANALYSIS

I. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

The defendant seeks dismissal of this action on the ground that this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to entertain the plaintiffs attempt to vacate the arbitral award. The defendant argues that only primary-jurisdiction courts under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, also known as the New York Convention (hereinafter “Convention”), have jurisdiction to vacate or modify the arbitral award. Motion at 6 (citing Gonsalvez, 935 F.Supp.2d 1325, 1330 (S.D. Fla. 2013)) (citing Ingaseosas Intern. Co. v. Aconcagua Investing Ltd., No. 09-23078-CIV, 2011 WL 500042, at *3 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 10, 2011)). The defendant’s motion, however, does not discuss the fact that both the district court and the Eleventh Circuit in Gonsalvez acknowledged the split of authority regarding whether vacatur actions are proper under the Convention. Gonsalvez v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., 935 F.Supp.2d 1325, 1331 (S.D. Fla. 2013), aff'd, 750 F.3d 1195, 1196 n.1 (11th Cir.

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234 F. Supp. 3d 1220, 2017 A.M.C. 812, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7801, 2017 WL 216020, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cvoro-v-carnival-corp-flsd-2017.