Costa Concordia US lawsuit thrown out
A Florida court has dismissed lawsuits seeking damages against Carnival Corp over the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, saying the US is not the appropriate place to try the cases.
“Litigating in Florida would result in material and manifest injustice to Carnival because the vast majority of evidence is located in Italy, as are virtually all of the witnesses,” wrote Judge Barbara Lagoa in the ruling.
Plaintiffs will have to take their case to the Italian courts, Judge Lagoa said.
The Miami lawsuit was filed on behalf of 57 mostly foreign plaintiffs, using five US nationals as so-called ‘anchor’ plaintiffs.
The actions were filed against Costa, its parent company Carnival Corp., and several other entities.
The Costa Concordia sank after colliding with an underwater reef near the island of Giglio, Italy, killing 32.
The ship was carrying more than 3,000 passengers including about 100 Americans.
The ship’s captain Francesco Schettino is serving 16 years in prison in connection with the incident.
Previous lawsuits filed in other US states have also been dismissed for the same reasons.
There are still several cases against Costa pending in Italy.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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