Cooper v. Meridian Yachts, Ltd.
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
575 F.3d 1151 (2009)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
In 1994, the Dutch shipbuilder De Vries Scheepsbow B.V. (De Vries) (defendant) contracted to build a yacht for Meridian Yachts, Ltd. (Meridian) (plaintiff). Article 10 of the contract shielded De Vries from negligence claims. Article 13 of the contract stipulated that “all disputes arising out of or in connection with” the contract would be governed by Dutch law. In 1997, Jameson Cooper (plaintiff) sustained injuries aboard the yacht. Cooper sued Meridian for damages. Meridian impleaded De Vries as a third-party defendant, alleging that De Vries’s negligence in building the yacht led to Cooper’s injuries. Meridian paid Cooper to settle their dispute out of court and then sought to recover the settlement payment from De Vries. De Vries argued that Meridian’s claim was time-barred by a Dutch 10-year statute of repose for strict products liability. Meridian countered that the contractual choice-of-law clause applied only to contract claims and not to the tort claims for which Meridian sought to have De Vries held liable. The federal district court granted summary judgment for De Vries. Meridian appealed to the Eleventh Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Trager, J.)
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