Klein et al v. Silversea Cruises Ltd
Filing
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Memorandum Opinion and Order granting 9 Motion to Transfer Case Out of District/Division. This action is TRANSFERRED, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division. (Ordered by Senior Judge A. Joe Fish on 1/14/2015) (ykp)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
DALLAS DIVISION
VICKY KLEIN, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,
VS.
SILVERSEA CRUISES, LTD.,
Defendant.
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CIVIL ACTION NO.
3:14-CV-2699-G
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Before the court is the motion of the defendant Silversea Cruises, Ltd.
(Silversea”) to transfer venue of this case to the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division (docket entry 9). For the
reasons stated below, the motion is granted.
I. BACKGROUND
On February 2, 2014, plaintiff Vicky Klein (“Mrs. Klein”) contacted Silversea
about taking a cruise. Defendant’s Brief in Support of Defendant’s Motion to
Transfer (“Motion”) at 2 (docket entry 10). On February 5, 2014, Mrs. Klein made
reservations for her husband and herself for an eight day cruise aboard the Silversea
cruise ship MV Silver Spirit. Id. Thereafter, Silversea employee Marie Kneale
(“Kneale”) emailed Mrs. Klein to confirm the reservation and to deliver an invoice.
Id. On February 13, 2014, Mrs. Klein paid for the cruise in full. Id. In response,
Kneale confirmed the reservation via email with an updated invoice. Id. Each of
Kneale’s emails included a link to terms and conditions listed on the Silversea
website, www.silversea.com. Id. at 2-3. The website includes a link to Silversea’s
terms and conditions page. Id. at 3. The second paragraph of the terms and
conditions page reads, in pertinent part, as follows:
The transportation of guests and baggage on Silversea
vessels is provided solely by Silversea and is governed by
the terms and conditions printed on the Passage Contract.
The Passage Contract can be viewed online and will be
included with your travel documents. It contains complete
and important information regarding cancellations,
itineraries, Silversea’s liability, health and immigration
requirements, and other relevant terms and conditions.
The terms and conditions of the Passage Contract will
apply to persons who have booked a cruise regardless of
whether or not they have embarked the vessel. Please read
your Passage Contract carefully.
Id. (emphasis in the original).
A user may click “viewed online” on the terms and conditions page to read the
Passage Contract. Id. By booking and purchasing a Silversea cruise, a passenger
automatically is bound by the terms of the Passage Contract. Id. at 6. The Passage
Contract contained the following provision.
CHOICE OF LAW/PLACE OF SUIT
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IT IS SPECIFICALLY AGREED BY AND BETWEEN
YOU, THE PASSENGER, AND THE CARRIER THAT
ANY AND ALL DISPUTES AND MATTERS
WHATSOEVER ARISING UNDER, IN
CONNECTION WITH, OR INCIDENT TO THIS
PASSAGE CONTRACT, YOUR BOOKING OF SPACE
OR YOUR CRUISE SHALL BE LITIGATED SOLELY
AND EXCLUSIVELY, IF AT ALL, IN AND BEFORE
THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA IN BROWARD
COUNTY, FLORIDA AND IN THE EVENT THAT
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA LACKS
SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION THEN ANY
SUIT MUST BE BROUGHT IN A COURT OF
COMPETENT JURISDICTION LOCATED IN
BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA TO THE
EXCLUSION OF ANY OTHER COURT WHERE SUIT
MAY OTHERWISE BE BROUGHT.
Id.
On March 31, 2014, Mrs. Klein received a printed copy of the Passage
Contract in a booklet entitled Travel Journal. Id. at 4-5. On April 8, 2014, Mrs. Klein
acknowledged receipt of the booklet in an email to Kneale. Id.
On May 5, 2014, Klein was injured by a used syringe left in her cabin on the
MV Silver Spirit. Plaintiff’s Original Petition ¶ IV, attached to Defendant’s Notice of
Removal (“Notice of Removal”) as Exhibit C (docket entry 1). On June 27, 2014,
Mrs. Klein and her husband (“the Kleins”) filed suit against Silversea in the County
Court of Law No. 4, Dallas County, Texas, for negligence, negligent
misrepresentation, and violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, TEX.
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BUS. & COMM. CODE ANN. § 17.41, et seq. See Notice of Removal ¶¶ 1, 2. Silversea
maintains that the Kleins are bound by the terms of the Passage Contract to file suit
in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort
Lauderdale Division, and move to transfer this case to that court. Motion at 1, 23.
II. ANALYSIS
A district court may transfer any civil case “[f]or the convenience of parties and
witnesses, in the interest of justice, . . . to any other district or division where it might
have been brought.” 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The purpose of Section 1404(a) “is to
prevent the waste ‘of time, energy and money’ and ‘to protect litigants, witnesses and
the public against unnecessary inconvenience and expense. . . .’” Van Dusen v.
Barrack, 376 U.S. 612, 616 (1964) (quoting Continental Grain Co. v. Barge FBL-585,
364 U.S. 19, 26-27 (1960)). It is clear that this suit could have been brought in the
the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale
Division. See Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Company, 407 U.S. 1, 15 (1972); see also
Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585, 593-94 (1991). After review of the
pleadings, the court finds that in the interest of justice and for the convenience of the
witnesses and parties, the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division, is a preferable forum. Accordingly, Silversea’s
motion to transfer is granted.
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III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated, the defendant’s motion to transfer is GRANTED, and
this action is TRANSFERRED, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), to the United
States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale
Division.
SO ORDERED.
January 14, 2015.
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A. JOE FISH
Senior United States District Judge
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