Stewart v. Carnival Corp.

365 F. Supp. 3d 1272
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 13, 2019
DocketCASE NO. 18-21898-CIV-ALTONAGA/Goodman
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 365 F. Supp. 3d 1272 (Stewart 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
Stewart v. Carnival Corp., 365 F. Supp. 3d 1272 (S.D. Fla. 2019).

Opinion

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE came before the Court on Defendant, Carnival Corporation's Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 36 ], filed January 22, 2019. Defendant contemporaneously filed its Statement of Undisputed Facts [ECF No. 37] (the "Def.'s SOF"). On February 15, 2019, Plaintiff, Mary Stewart, filed a Response [ECF No. 53 ] and a Response to Defendant's Facts [ECF No. 54] (the "Pl.'s SOF"). On February 22, 2019, Defendant filed a Reply [ECF No. 63 ] and a Response to Plaintiff's Additional Facts [ECF No. 64] (the "Def.'s Resp. to Pl.'s SOF"). On February 28, 2019, Plaintiff filed a Surreply [ECF No. 66 ]. The Court has carefully considered the parties' submissions, their exhibits, the record,1 the Complaint [ECF No. 1 ], and *1274applicable law. For the following reasons, the Motion is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

On June 6, 2017, Plaintiff suffered injuries from a slip and fall on Defendant's vessel, the Carnival Pride. (See Def.'s SOF ¶¶ 1-2). Plaintiff's narrative, supported by the record, is straightforward. Plaintiff slipped and fell in a five-by-five-foot oily puddle of pool water while participating in Defendant's dancing event hosted on the Lido Pool Deck next to the main deck pool. (See Pl.'s SOF ¶ 11). Plaintiff was dancing barefoot and did not feel any wetness on the floor before falling. (See id. ¶¶ 9, 13). For 30 minutes, Plaintiff and her sister, Jean Gazda, did not witness anyone spill or drop a drink where Plaintiff fell. (See id. ¶¶ 35-36, 48). Plaintiff and her sister did not see any crewmembers mopping the floor during the dance. (See id. ¶¶ 35, 48). They also did they see anyone exit the pool and walk on the area where Plaintiff slipped and fell. (See id. ¶¶ 11, 19).

After falling, Plaintiff felt wet oily pool water on her pants and legs. (See id. ¶¶ 9, 13, 16). Plaintiff and her sister could not see the puddle because the pool deck was dimly lit, and the floor was shiny. (See id. ¶¶ 20, 22, 43). Nevertheless, they both knew there was a large puddle of water and saw the moisture on the left side of Plaintiff's body. (See id. ). Plaintiff knew it was pool water because it was not colored, lacked an odor, and wasn't sticky. (See id. ¶ 9).

Based on the events leading up to her slip and fall, Plaintiff filed a Complaint [ECF No. 1 ] asserting a single negligence claim (Count I) (See id. ¶¶ 20-29). Plaintiff contends Defendant could have closed or reasonably maintained the Lido Pool Deck during the dancing event to ensure the floors were dry, or at a minimum, placed signs in the area to alert passengers the floor could be wet and slippery. (See generally id. ).

Defendant now seeks summary judgment arguing no genuine dispute of material fact remains on Plaintiff's negligence claim. (See generally Mot.; Reply).

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

Summary judgment is rendered if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), (c). If there are any factual issues, summary judgment must be denied and the case proceeds to trial. See Whelan v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. , No. 1:12-CV-22481, 2013 WL 5583970, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 14, 2013) (citing Envtl. Def. Fund v. Marsh , 651 F.2d 983, 991 (5th Cir. 1981) ). Even when the parties "agree on the basic facts, but disagree about the inferences that should be drawn from these facts[,]" summary judgment "may be inappropriate." Id. (alteration added; citation omitted).

"Under maritime law, the owner of a ship in navigable waters owes passengers a 'duty of reasonable care' under the circumstances." Sorrels v. NCL (Bah.) Ltd. , 796 F.3d 1275, 1279 (11th Cir. 2015) (citations omitted). To prevail in a maritime negligence claim, a plaintiff must show: "(1) the defendant had a duty to *1275protect the plaintiff from a particular injury; (2) the defendant breached that duty; (3) the breach actually and proximately caused the plaintiff's injury; and (4) the plaintiff suffered actual harm." Chaparro v. Carnival Corp. , 693 F.3d 1333, 1336 (11th Cir. 2012) (citations omitted).

To establish the owner of a ship in navigable waters breached its duty of care, a plaintiff must show: "(1) a dangerous condition existed; (2) the vessel's operator had actual notice of the dangerous condition; or (3) if there was no actual notice, that [d]efendant had constructive notice of the dangerous condition for an interval of time sufficient to allow the vessel's operator to implement corrective measures." Reinhardt v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. , No. 1:12-cv-22105, 2013 WL 11261341, at *4 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 2, 2013) (alteration added; citations omitted).

III. ANALYSIS

Defendant asserts it is entitled to summary judgment because Plaintiff has failed to present triable issues of fact on whether Defendant breached its duty of care. (See generally Mot.; see also Reply). Specifically, Defendant contends (1) no dangerous condition existed (see Mot. 8-12), and in any event (2) it was not placed on either actual or constructive notice of any dangerous condition (see id. 12-15). The Court addresses, and rejects, these two arguments in turn.

A. Dangerous Condition

First, Defendant asserts no dangerous condition existed to give rise to a breach of a duty of care. (See id. 8). Defendant posits Plaintiff's record evidence is limited to guesswork that is insufficient to withstand summary judgment. (See id. 9). Defendant insists "[c]ommon sense dictates that an invisible film of 'sunscreen oils and aerosols' in the midst of a large number of 'line dancers' would have created a noticeable safety issue long before [ ] Plaintiff's fall." (Id. 10 (alterations added) ).

"A dangerous condition is one that is not apparent and obvious to a passenger .... The mere fact that an accident occurs does not give rise to a presumption that the setting of the accident constituted a dangerous condition." Miller v. NCL (Bah.) Ltd. , No.

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365 F. Supp. 3d 1272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stewart-v-carnival-corp-flsd-2019.