Carnival Cruise Rocks Plaintiff’s Boat
Carroll v. Carnival Corp., No. 17-13602, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 11860, at *1263-1265 (11th Cir. Apr. 15, 2020).
By: Giuliani Alvarenga
In April of 2020, the Eleventh Circuit reversed and remanded summary judgment of a maritime tort case between Carnival Cruise and plaintiff, Elaine Carroll[1]. Plaintiff tripped over a chair as she was walking a narrow path while riding one of the company’s ships.
In March of 2015, Mrs. Carroll was a passenger on board the CARNIVAL PRIDE. On the first day of her voyage, she and her husband were making their way to one of the restaurants on Deck 11 of the ship. As Mrs. Carroll walked right behind her husband on a narrow pathway on the ship, her right foot caught onto a lounge chair, causing her to fall and suffer multiple injuries. She sued for negligence.[2] According to Carnival, they had no duty to warn Mrs. Carroll of the allegedly dangerous conditions, “Because [the pathway] was open and obvious.” Thus, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Carnival.[3]
The Eleventh Circuit thoroughly analyzed the trial court’s decision, which granted summary judgment and held that the trial judge made a mistake. According to Judge Jordan, who wrote the opinion, Mrs. Carroll had to prove that: “Carnival had a duty to protect her from a particular injury; that Carnival breached that duty; the breached caused her injuries; and that she suffered actual harm.”[4] Mrs. Carroll presented her evidence and it sufficed according to the appeal panel. The Plaintiff also brought in an expert on commercial cruise ships to opine on the knowledge of liability issues, as well as having employees of Carnival to testify. A reasonable jury could find that the chairs were a liability based on the facts and testimony from experts. Thus, the district court made an error in granting summary judgment without taking a closer look at the facts. As a result, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Carnival and sent that matter back to the district court so that the trial court can take a closer look at the facts.[5]
[1] Carroll v. Carnival Corp., No. 17-13602, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 11860, at *1263-1265 (11th Cir. Apr. 15, 2020).
[2] Id. at 1263.
[3] Id. at 1264.
[4] Id. at 1265.
[5] Id. at 1270.
