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Conflict of Laws Keyed to Brilmayer
Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute
Citation:
499 U.S. 585 (1991)Facts
Plaintiffs, Eulala and Russel Shute, purchased passage for a 7-day cruise on the ship, the Tropicale, owned by Defendant, Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. (“Carnival Cruise”). The Shute’s paid the cruise fare to an Arlington, Washington travel agent who forwarded payment to Carnival Cruise’s headquarters in Miami, Florida. Carnival Cruise then prepared the tickets and sent them to the Shutes in Washington. Each ticket contained a notice that it was subject to a terms and conditions of passage contract, which included a forum-selection clause stating that all disputes would be litigated before a court located in the state of Florida. The Shutes boarded the ship in Los Angeles, California, sailed to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and returned to Los Angeles. While the ship was in international waters off the coast of Mexico, Eulala was inured when she slipped on a deck mat during a guided tour of the ship.
The Shutes filed suit against Carnival Cruise in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, claiming that Eulala’s injuries were caused by negligence of the cruise line and its employees. Carnival Cruise moved for summary judgment, arguing that the forum-selection clause in the tickets required the Shutes to bring their suit against Carnival Cruise in Florida state court. Alternatively, Carnival Cruise argued that the Washington District Court lacked personal jurisdiction.
The District Court granted Carnival Cruise’s motion for summary judgment, finding that Carnival Cruise’s contacts with Washington were insufficient to support an exercise of personal jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed, concluding that the forum-selection clause should not be enforced because it was not freely entered. The U.S. Supreme Court granted Carnival Cruise’s petition for certiorari.
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