Perri V. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

  • Court: United States District Court, Florida Southern, Miami
  • Case number: 1:23cv21309
  • Filed: April 06, 2023
  • Judge: Judge Kathleen M. Williams
  • Referred To: Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid
  • Case type: Diversity-Personal Injury
  • Nature: Marine (340)

Parties Involved

  • Plaintiff: Beverly Perri
  • Defendant: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
    • Counsel for Defendant: Andrew Douglas Craven | Kimberly Laura Mason | Randy Scott Ginsberg
    • Expert Witnesses for Defendant: Dr. Jerry Sher

Verdict Information

  • Verdict date: June 06, 2024
  • Total damages awarded to Plaintiff: $0.00

About the Case

Cause

Plaintiff, Beverly Perri, was a resident and citizen of Ohio. Defendant, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., a Liberian corporation, had its principal office in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The Defendant operated maritime cruise vessels for paying passengers, including the “Oasis of the Seas” (the vessel).

At all relevant times, Plaintiff was a paying passenger on the vessel. On January 16, 2023, she was returning to the vessel from CocoCay, a private island in the Bahamas owned by Defendant. Although Plaintiff generally used a cane to walk, she was using an electric scooter for mobility at that time.

Upon arriving at the bottom of the vessel’s gangway, a uniformed crewmember employed by the Defendant met her. This crewmember assisted and supervised passengers boarding the vessel. The crewmember took control of the electric scooter so Plaintiff could walk up the gangway with the help of the railing. As she reached for the railing and began to dismount the scooter, the crewmember suddenly drove it forward. This action caused the scooter to tip over, resulting in Plaintiff falling to the ground. The incident forced the crewmember to grab the scooter to prevent it from falling further and landing on Plaintiff.

At all times, the crewmember had a duty to exercise reasonable care towards Plaintiff, a paying passenger lawfully aboard the vessel. Plaintiff contended that the crewmember was guilty of negligence. She alleged that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd was vicariously liable for the negligence of its staff. Their duty included exercising reasonable care when assisting and overseeing passengers boarding the cruise vessel.

Alternatively, the crewmember owed a duty of care because he undertook to control the Plaintiff’s electric scooter, enabling her to continue up the gangway. By failing to exercise reasonable care in assisting and overseeing Plaintiff’s boarding, the crewmember had allegedly breached his duty.

Injury

As a direct result of the fall caused due to Defendant’s alleged negligence, Plaintiff sustained an intertrochanteric fracture of her femur, among other injuries.

Damages

Under the saving to suitors clause of 28 U.S.C. Section 1333(1), the Plaintiff demanded a trial by jury on all triable issues. Plaintiff also sought judgment against Defendant for damages in amounts to be proven at trial. Additionally, she requested any other relief to which she was entitled.

Jury Verdict

On June 6, 2024, a Florida jury found that there had been no negligence on the crewmember’s part which had caused legal injury or loss to Plaintiff. Thus, the jury rendered the verdict in favor of Defendant. No damages were awarded to Plaintiff.

On June 10, 2024, Judge Kathleen M. Williams entered a final judgment in favor of Defendant Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, affirming the verdict. Additionally, all remaining motions were declared moot and the case was closed.

Court Documents:

Available upon request