Concordia Survivors File Lawsuit in Fort Lauderdale

The Sun-Sentinel reports that six months after the Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy, another lawsuit has been filed against Carnival Corp. & PLC, owner of the ill-fated ship, along with subsidiary Costa Crociere (Cruises). The July 13 suit, filed in Fort Lauderdale in the U.S. District Court, alleges several charges against Carnival and Costa, including fraudulent misrepresentation, maritime negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiffs Amanda, Adrian and Brandon Warrick were among the more than 4,000 passengers and crew aboard the Concordia when it hit submerged rocks and capsized near a Tuscan island on Jan. 13. Miami attorney Gabrielle Lyn D'Alemberte, who represents the Warricks, said Wednesday the Warricks have a right to file a lawsuit here and not in Italy as the cruise ticket contract dictates, because they purchased their cruises on Costa's U.S. website. It also would be prejudicial to take it to Italy as they'd be barred from litigation there since there's no contingency for personal injury in this case, she noted.

The full Sun-Sentinel article can be found here =>
CONCORDIA SURVIVORS FILE LAWSUIT IN FORT LAUDERDALE-- Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, July 19, 2012.

However, Ms. D'Alemberte's statements that it would be prejudicial to take the plaintiffs' cases to Italy because they would be barred from litigating there has been disputed by a number of Italian sources. Amongst these sources includes Italian lawyer and local maritime law professor, Attilio Costabel, who presented at the Maritime Law Association joint meeting of the Cruise Lines and Passenger Ships and Maritime Torts and Casualties Committee. Mr. Costabel made clear in his presentation in May 2012 that there were various remedies available to plaintiffs in Italy. It will be interesting to see which lawyer is proven correct.

If you are interested in contacting me, please feel free to do so at miamipandi@comcast.net or mov@chaloslaw.com.

Comments

ReThink + ReUse Center "It's How We Roll" Fun Raiser -- Bowling Night -- October 16, 2014

As many of my readers may be aware, I am the Chair of the ReThink + ReUse Center, a non-for-profit educational and environmental Center in Miami educating children into rethinking reuseable materials for learning through play. The ReThink and ReUse Center’s Quality Play is Learning Program provides a series of educational and participatory workshops based on the philosophies of Reggio Emilia and Harvard's Project Zero Visible Thinking. The Children’s Trust is the major funder of this program, but the Center is required to continually fundraise for the balance its annual budget. The Center is having a fun event you are invited to--the ReThink + Reuse Center’s “It’s How We Roll” bowling event on October 16, 2014 at Splitsville Luxury Lanes from 18:00 to 21:30 hours. My firm, Comcast and Waste Management are major sponsors for this event, but we could use a few more sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please let me know by reaching me at mov@chalos...

Maritime Law--Major Changes in the U.S. Relationship with Cuba

On December 17, 2014, President Obama announced that the United States would be setting a new course in U.S. relations with Cuba by easing some of the trade and travel restrictions which have been in place for over fifty (50) years. President Obama stated that the policy of isolating Cuba has failed to accomplish the long term objective of promoting the emergence of a democratic Cuba, stating that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is no good for the American or Cuban people. The main goal in lifting some of the restrictions is purported to focus on improving human rights, empowering democratic reforms, and promoting the independence of the Cuban people so that they do not need to rely so heavily on the Cuban state. As a result of President Obama’s announcement, on January 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (31 CFR section 515) and the U.S. Depa...

Maritime Law--Florida's Arbitration Code Is Now Revised

Those of us that practice maritime law regularly must always be on the lookout for the contract that may contain an arbitration clause. Thus, any laws related to arbitration are important to those of us practicing in this sector. The Florida legislature has revised the Florida Arbitration Code ("FAC") and named it the Revised Florida Arbitration Code (the " Revised Act"). Since 1967, the FAC had gone mostly unchanged. The Revised Act addresses concepts that were not addressed in the old law, such as the ability of arbitrators to issue provision remedies, challenges based on notice, consolidation of separate arbitration proceedings, required conflict disclosures by arbitrators, among other major changes. The Revised Act lays out a detailed framework for international arbitration conducted under Florida law and repeals sections of the FAC. The Revised Act spells out what experienced arbitrators knew the case law to be, but codifies it all in one pl...

Miami Shipping Law

Search This Blog