Esfeld v. Costa Crociere, S.P.A.

289 F.3d 1300 (2002)

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Esfeld v. Costa Crociere, S.P.A.

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
289 F.3d 1300 (2002)

  • Written by Elizabeth Yingling, JD

Facts

Three couples, residents of California and Washington (collectively, Esfeld) (plaintiffs) sued Costa Crociere, S.P.A. (Costa) (defendant), an Italian cruise line, for injuries Esfeld sustained during a land tour in Vietnam organized by Costa. Esfeld had received advertisements from Costa through American travel agents. Esfeld sued in a Florida district court. Costa filed a motion to dismissed for forum non conveniens. In deciding a forum non conveniens motion, Florida law considered the contacts a lawsuit had with the state. By contrast, federal courts considered the contacts a lawsuit had with the entirety of the United States. The district court granted the motion based on Florida law. In its ruling, the district court refused to apply Sibaja v. Dow Chemical Co., which held that federal forum non conveniens law, not state law, applied to diversity suits. The district court held that the ruling in Sibaja was primarily focused on the federal court’s power to police and control its own docket from a multitude of foreign lawsuits. The district court also held that the application of Florida law prevented forum shopping. According to the district court, because Florida’s forum non conveniens law was more restrictive than federal law, the concerns in Sibaja were not applicable. Esfeld appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Birch, J.)

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