Facts

Patricia Sandoval and Nicholas Taliaferro filed a lawsuit against the defendants Carnival Corp., Carnival's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Micky Arison, Carnival's Vice Chairman of the Board and Chief Operating Officer Howard S. Frank, Carnival's Health, Environmental, Safety & Security Committee Chairperson Arnold W. Donald, Joseph Farcus, an architect who was allegedly involved in the design of the vessel, and his firm, Joseph Farcus Architect PA, an entity that was allegedly involved in the design of the vessel arising out of the shipwreck of the MS Costa Concordia, off the coast of Italy.

The parties filed a stipulation to dismiss the individual defendants without prejudice, and the case went on against Carnival only.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs were passengers on the Concordia on Jan. 13, 2012. Plaintiffs contended the captain took the ship off its intended course and the ship capsized after hitting a rock. Plaintiffs alleged that Carnival Corp., a Panamanian corporation based in Florida, caused their injuries by failing to enforce proper safety policies.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Carnival argued that plaintiffs' suit should be dismissed based on being brought in an inconvenient forum because the Concordia was an Italian-flagged vessel owned by an Italian company and the incident took place in Italian waters. Carnival further argued that Italy had a greater interest in the action.

Result

The court granted Carnival's motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens, finding that Italy was an appropriate and convenient forum. The court dismissed the case without prejudice and subject to Carnival accepting certain conditions, including submitting to jurisdiction in an Italian court and tolling any applicable statute of limitations.