Krupski v. Costa Crociere S.P.A.

On February 21, 2007, Wanda Krupski (plaintiff) was injured while on board a cruise ship operated by Costa Crociere S.p.A. (Costa Crociere) (defendant). Krupski’s ticket listed Costa Cruise on the front of the ticket but identified Costa Crociere as the carrier on the back of the ticket. On February 1, 2008, Krupski brought a suit in negligence against Costa Cruise. The statute of limitations expired three weeks later. After the expiration of the statute of limitations, Costa Cruise alerted Krupski to Costa Crociere’s identity as the proper defendant on several different occasions. Costa Cruise ultimately moved for summary judgment on grounds that it was not the proper defendant. Krupski cross-moved to amend her complaint to add Costa Crociere. The Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida (District Court) denied Costa Cruise’s motion for summary judgment and granted Krupski’s motion for leave to amend. Krupski and Costa Cruise then stipulated to dismiss Costa Cruise from the action. Krupski filed an amended complaint against Costa Crociere on July 11, 2008. Costa Crociere thereafter filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Krupski’s amended complaint did not relate back to the date of her original complaint and that, therefore, Krupski’s suit was outside the statute of limitations. The District Court granted the motion to dismiss. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed.