Maxwell v. Carnival Corporation

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 18, 2021
Docket1:19-cv-23054
StatusUnknown

This text of Maxwell v. Carnival Corporation (Maxwell v. Carnival Corporation) 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
Maxwell v. Carnival Corporation, (S.D. Fla. 2021).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Case No. 19-cv-23054-BLOOM/Louis

THEODORE MAXWELL,

Plaintiff,

v.

CARNIVAL CORPORATION,

Defendant. ________________________________/

ORDER

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Defendant Carnival Corporation’s (“Defendant”) Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. [37] (“Motion”), filed on January 7, 2021.1 Plaintiff filed a response in opposition, ECF No. [43] (“Response”), to which Defendant filed a reply, ECF No. [50] (“Reply”). The Court has carefully reviewed the Motion, all opposing and supporting submissions, the record in this case, the applicable law, and is otherwise fully advised. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is denied. I. BACKGROUND On July 23, 2019, Plaintiff initiated the instant action against Defendant for personal injuries he sustained while onboard Defendant’s cruise ship. ECF No. [1] (“Complaint”). The Complaint alleges that on September 8, 2018, while walking past Guy’s Burger Joint on the Lido Deck of the Carnival Liberty cruise ship, Plaintiff “noticed a chair in the middle of the walkway.” Id. ¶ 8. When Plaintiff went to walk around the chair, he “suddenly and unexpectedly slipped and

1 Plaintiff urges the Court to strike the Motion because it was filed four minutes after the January 6, 2021 dispositive motion deadline. ECF No. [43] at 1-2. In the interest of resolving the Motion on the merits, the Court accepts the late-filed Motion. fell[,]” thereby sustaining serious injuries. Id. ¶¶ 8, 13. Following his fall, “Plaintiff noticed that he slipped in food and liquid that spilled onto the floor.” Id. ¶ 8. Based on these allegations, the Complaint asserts a single count of maritime negligence against Defendant for “failing to properly inspect, maintain, and keep the flooring clean and dry, in an area where it knew passengers would be walking.” Id. ¶ 11; see generally id.

II. MATERIAL FACTS2 Plaintiff was a lawfully paying passenger aboard the Carnival Liberty, which is owned and operated by Defendant. ECF No. [38] ¶¶ 1-2; see also ECF No. [44] ¶ 1-2. On September 8, 2018, Plaintiff and his partner, Krystal Dulmer (“Ms. Dulmer”), were walking in the Guy’s Burger Joint area of the Lido Deck. ECF No. [44] ¶ 6. Plaintiff noticed a chair in the walkway near the condiment station of the restaurant, changed his direction to walk around the chair, and slipped and fell on spilled food. ECF No. [37-1] at 44:1-45:25. The spilled food appeared to be rice and another soup-like substance. Id. at 45:18-23; see also ECF No. [37-2] at 75:7-18. Following Plaintiff’s fall, Ms. Dulmer observed “dried steps” in the substance, as if “somebody else had

already walked in it.” ECF No. [37-2] at 69:19-25. Ms. Dulmer also observed crewmembers cleaning and spraying portions of the pool area of the Lido Deck at the time of Plaintiff’s fall. Id. 53:21-54:19, 55:18-56:20. Ms. Dulmer testified that despite Plaintiff’s efforts to walk around the chair, “the spill was so big he slid in it.” Id. at 62:1-21. According to Plaintiff, the food substance spanned across seven or more square lido deck tiles, each of which measure 30x30 centimeters. ECF No. [44] at ¶ 16; see also ECF No. [44-5] at ¶ 11. Plaintiff supports this rendition of the facts through photographs

2 The parties’ factual submissions include Defendant’s Statement of Material Facts in Support of Motion, ECF No. [38], and Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant’s Statement of Material Facts and Additional Facts, ECF No. [44]. Based on the parties’ respective statements of material facts, along with the evidence in the record, the following facts are not genuinely in dispute unless otherwise noted. Case No. 19-cv-23054-BLOOM/Louis

of the incident scene taken by Ms. Dulmer approximately five to ten minutes after Plaintiffs fall. ECF No. [44-7]. During the deposition of Defendant’s corporate representative, Monica Borcegue (‘“Ms. Borcegue”’), Ms. Borcegue testified that crewmembers are instructed and trained to cordon off spills with a caution sign or anything else that could cover the spill, such as a chair, in accordance with Defendant’s 2 Minute Trainer “Own the Spill” (“Own the Spill Policy”). ECF No. [37-3] at 25:16-27:21. The Own the Spill Policy provides, in pertinent part:

Spills are very common in high traffic areas like Lido Restaurant / Beverage Stations, public areas like Bars & Lounges, and are one of the Jeading causes of Guest Accidents.

In case of large spills ( ome meter area or larger ) the area should be immediately cordoned off, and HK team contacted. Area may be cordoned off by using caution cones, or chairs If no cones are readily at hand.

See ECF No. [44-4]. According to Ms. Borcegue, Defendant’s Policy serves both “aesthetic and safety purposes. ... we don’t want our ships to be messy, obviously, and it’s for everybody’s safety on board, both guest and crew.” ECF No. [37-3] at 27:22-28:15. Ms. Borcegue testified that spills on the decks of Defendant’s cruise ships are statistically the leading cause of guest accidents due to the high- traffic nature of the area, and explained that Defendant recognizes that cleaning and attending to spills are important to prevent slip and falls. /d. at 29:4-16, 31:11-25. During discovery, Defendant identified nineteen passengers who, during the three years preceding Plaintiffs incident, slipped and fell in the same area of the Carnival Liberty or in a similar area in other cruise ships of its class. ECF No. [44] at 9] 13-15; see also ECF No. [44-5] at {| 6-7.

Defendant now moves for summary judgment, arguing that Defendant did not have actual or constructive notice of any dangerous condition. III. LEGAL STANDARD A court may grant a motion for summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”

Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The parties may support their positions by citations to materials in the record, including, among other things, depositions, documents, affidavits, or declarations. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). An issue is genuine if “a reasonable trier of fact could return judgment for the non-moving party.” Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. United States, 516 F.3d 1235, 1243 (11th Cir. 2008) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48 (1986)). A fact is material if it “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Id. (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48). A court views the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, draws “all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmovant and may not weigh evidence or make credibility

determinations, which ‘are jury functions, not those of a judge.’” Lewis v. City of Union City, Ga., 934 F.3d 1169, 1179 (11th Cir. 2019) (quoting Feliciano v. City of Mia. Beach, 707 F.3d 1244, 1252 (11th Cir. 2013)); see also Crocker v. Beatty, 886 F.3d 1132, 1134 (11th Cir. 2018) (“[W]e accept [the non-movant’s] version of the facts as true and draw all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to him as the non-movant.”). “The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [non-moving party’s] position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which a jury could reasonably find for the [non-moving party].” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252.

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Maxwell v. Carnival Corporation, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maxwell-v-carnival-corporation-flsd-2021.