The Athens Convention establishes a comprehensive integrated system to govern the liability of cruise ship operators for personal injuries and property damage sustained by its passengers. It contains standards for establishing liability and permissible defenses as well as its own statute of limitations and venue provisions. The Convention was primarily…
A newly released audio exchange between Port Authority and Costa Concordia Captain Fransesco Schettino was released today. Below is the transcript of the exchange: Captain Schettino: It’s Capt. Schettino. Port Authority: Schettino, listen to me, there are people trapped onboard, now you go back, you will go with your rescue…
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Johnson v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., invalidating releases for activities on cruise ships, which was participated in by Leesfield & Partners‘ Robert Peltz as amicus curiae on behalf of the Florida Admiralty Trial Lawyers Association, is an important decision protecting the…
The disaster that shook the passengers of the Costa Concordia when the ship ran aground and capsized near the Island of Giglio, Italy, while probably the most tragic in recent memory, was not the first tragedy of its kind. In 1998, the Monarch of the Seas had an eerily similar…
While investigators are looking at the black box of the cruise ship Costa Concordia that sunk off the coast of Italy, prosecutors did not waste time in gathering facts and evidence from passengers and crew members, which have led them to arrest Captain Francesco Schettino on allegations of manslaughter and…
We reported last week that, Luiz Scavone, a 20-year-old Brazilian citizen, was arrested during a cruise on Allure of the Seas. On Friday, Broward Circuit Judge Matthew Destry ordered 20-year-old Luiz Scavone to be held without bail Friday. Judge Destry motivated his decision by the belief that, if released on…
Below is a timeline of events amid the cruise ship disaster that sunk off the coast of Italy, Isola del Giglio: Friday January 13, 2012 7:00 p.m.: The ship embarks on a 7-day cruise from Civitavecchia, near Rome, with 4,229 cruise passengers and crew members on board from 60 different…
Cruise Ship Litigation and the application of the law is an ever-changing landscape. Below is a compilation of important cases recently published that have changed the law as it pertains to cruise ship and admiralty litigation: Robert D. Peltz and Carol L. Finklehoffe Leesfield & Partners Miami, Florida Robert Peltz…