Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute

Facts

The Shutes bought passage for a 7-day cruise on Carnival's ship, the Tropicale, through a travel agent in Arlington, Wash. They paid the agent, who sent the money to Carnival's headquarters in Miami, Fla. Carnival then prepared the tickets and sent them to the Shutes in the State of Washington. The face of each ticket warned that it was subject to conditions in the contract on the last pages and urged the passenger to read them. Paragraph 8 of the contract said that all disputes arising under or connected with the contract must be litigated, if at all, in a court in the State of Florida, to the exclusion of the courts of any other state or country. The Shutes boarded the ship in Los Angeles. It sailed to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and returned. While the ship was in international waters off the Mexican coast, Mrs. Shute slipped on a deck mat during a guided tour of the ship's galley and was injured. The Shutes said Carnival and its employees had been negligent. The opinion records that the Shutes essentially conceded they had notice of the forum clause.

Issues

1. In an admiralty case, may a court enforce a forum-selection clause printed in a cruise ticket that the passengers did not negotiate, or is the clause unenforceable because it was not bargained for?
2. Was the clause unenforceable because litigating in Florida would deprive the Shutes of their day in court, or because it violates the Limitation of Vessel Owner's Liability Act, 46 U. S. C. App. § 183c?

Holding

The Florida forum-selection clause in the Shutes' cruise ticket was enforceable. The Shutes essentially conceded notice of the clause, and the Court saw no indication of a bad-faith motive, no evidence of fraud or overreaching, no showing of inconvenience strong enough to set the clause aside, and no violation of § 183c. The Ninth Circuit erred in refusing to enforce it.