What's New...
What's New
January 2026 A passenger aboard the cruise ship Carnival Elation was injured on a cruise when she was hit by chairs that fell from a trolley. In her statement of material facts, she was on deck 11 in a smoking area. She sued Carnival for five counts of vicarious liability and negligence. Carnival moved for partial summary judgment as to Counts II and III of the plaintiff's amended complaint. Summary judgment is a motion that is exercised when the moving party asserts that there is no triable issue of fact.
Carnival's motion for summary judgment was denied in federal court in the Southern District of Florida. (Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment is governed by Rule 56. See Federal Rules Civil Procedure 56)Carnival's argument involved the element of notice, in that Carnival did not have notice of the risk the process of transferring chairs had (Carnival argued the injured plaintiff “has not come forward with any evidence that Carnival knew or should have known its process of unloading chairs from a trolley posed a risk to its passengers.”
However, the court referenced a Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) case holding that, “With respect to the duty element in a maritime context, a shipowner owes the duty of exercising reasonable care towards those lawfully aboard the vessel who are not members of the crew”—a standard that “requires, as a prerequisite to imposing liability, that the carrier have had actual or constructive notice of a risk-creating condition.” Guevara v. NCL (Bahamas) Ltd.
When a summary motion motion is denied, that means the matter must proceed to trial to make the determination, whether it involves liability, notice, or facts in question. See Federal Rules Civil Procedure 56, Summary Judgment
Carnival's motion for summary judgment was denied in federal court in the Southern District of Florida. (Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment is governed by Rule 56. See Federal Rules Civil Procedure 56)Carnival's argument involved the element of notice, in that Carnival did not have notice of the risk the process of transferring chairs had (Carnival argued the injured plaintiff “has not come forward with any evidence that Carnival knew or should have known its process of unloading chairs from a trolley posed a risk to its passengers.”
However, the court referenced a Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) case holding that, “With respect to the duty element in a maritime context, a shipowner owes the duty of exercising reasonable care towards those lawfully aboard the vessel who are not members of the crew”—a standard that “requires, as a prerequisite to imposing liability, that the carrier have had actual or constructive notice of a risk-creating condition.” Guevara v. NCL (Bahamas) Ltd.
When a summary motion motion is denied, that means the matter must proceed to trial to make the determination, whether it involves liability, notice, or facts in question. See Federal Rules Civil Procedure 56, Summary Judgment
