Fuentes v. Classica Cruise Operator Ltd., No. 20-14639 (11th Cir. May 3, 2022).

Plaintiff sued the defendant-cruise line for injuries he sustained during a physical altercation onboard the vessel during the disembarkation process. Plaintiff initiated and provoked the altercation by confronting a third-party for cutting the line despite already having a negative experience with that person the night before. The district court entered summary judgment for the cruise line, and Plaintiff appealed.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with our analysis and found that the attack on Plaintiff was not foreseeable because by Plaintiff’s own testimony was that he was blindsided by the punch. The Court took note that by that point, the cruise line’s security officers had already intervened, separated the passengers, and called for backup. Under these circumstances, the Court found that the cruise line could not have foreseen the attack. In reaching this holding, the Court held that because Plaintiff was assaulted by a passenger and not crew, the reasonable care standard applied and the strict and vicarious liability standard did not.

As far as notice, the Court rejected Plaintiff’s generalization that the cruise line should have had notice because verbal altercations can lead to physical assaults. The Court found this argument was too generalized and insufficient for notice purposes. The Court further concluded that a single prior incident of passenger-on-passenger violence involving a domestic dispute inside a private cabin was not similar enough to impart constructive notice. The summary judgment finding was affirmed.

Classica is represented by Michael J. Dono, William F. Clair, Annalisa Gutierrez and Jerry Dean Hamilton of Hamilton Miller & Birthisel LLP.