The plaintiff alleged that she tripped and fell in the piano bar area of the cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway, a vessel owned, leased, chartered, operated, maintained, managed, and/or controlled by the defendant. The plaintiff claimed that 'unbeknownst to her, there was a threshold in [the piano bar] area that was camouflaged, poorly lit, unmarked, uneven, and unreasonably raised, which could not reasonably be seen by her or a reasonable passenger. No warning signs were posted at the time of the incident'. Or, in the alternative, 'if any warnings were present, they were insufficient for [her] to have seen them'. The plaintiff claimed that she 'sustained severe injuries that include, but are not limited to, a meniscus tear, a baker cyst, nerve damage, a concussion, aggravation of preexisting back and lumbar pain and injuries, contusions, fear, and other injuries to her head, face, mouth, hands, legs, knees, and feet'.

The defendant argued that the plaintiff's damages, if any, were limited by the Athens Convention 2002. Section 6(d) of the plaintiff's contract for passage (aka the Guest Ticket Contract), stated:

ON ALL OTHER INTERNATIONAL CRUISES WHICH NEITHER EMBARK, DISEMBARK NOR CALL AT ANY U.S. PORT OR EUROPEAN MEMBER STATE, CARRIER SHALL BE ENTITLED TO ANY AND ALL LIABILITY LIMITATIONS AND IMMUNITIES FOR DEATH AND/OR PERSONAL INJURY AS PROVIDED IN THE ATHENS CONVENTION RELATING TO THE CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND THEIR LUGGAGE BY SEA, 1974 AND THE PROTOCOL OF 2002 TO THAT CONVENTION (TOGETHER, THE “ATHENS CONVENTION”) ON THE LIABILITY OF CARRIERS TO PASSENGERS IN THE EVENT OF ACCIDENTS. THE ATHENS CONVENTION LIMITS THE CARRIER'S LIABILITY FOR DEATH OF OR PERSONAL INJURY TO A GUEST TO NO MORE THAN 400,000 SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS (“SDR”) PER GUEST (APPROXIMATELY U.S. $570,000, WHICH FLUCTUATES DEPENDING ON THE DAILY EXCHANGE RATE AS PUBLISHED IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL).

The plaintiff moved to strike this defence on the ground, among others, that 'the [Athens] Convention does not apply because there is no indication that the parties’ relationship is international in nature'. In 46 USC § 30527 - formerly 46 USC § 30509 and, before that, 46 USC § 183c2 - Congress provided that '[t]he owner, master, manager, or agent of a vessel transporting passengers between ports in the United States, or between a port in the United States and a port in a foreign country, may not include in a regulation or contract a provision limiting - (A) the liability of the owner, master, or agent for personal injury or death caused by the negligence or fault of the owner or the owner's employees or agents; or (B) the right of a claimant for personal injury or death to a trial by court of competent jurisdiction'.

Article 2 of the Athens Convention, by contrast, applies to any international carriage of passengers if: '(a) the ship is flying the flag of or is registered in a State Party to this Convention, or (b) the contract of carriage has been made in a State Party to this Convention, or (c) the place of departure or destination, according to the contract of carriage, is in a State Party to this Convention'. Because the United States is not a signatory to the Athens Convention, it 'carries no force of law on its own': Wajnstat v Oceania Cruises Inc 2011 WL 13099034 *3 (SD Fla, 12 July 2011) (CMI790). However, a contract provision that incorporates the Athens Convention to limit carrier liability for personal injury 'may be enforceable as a term of a valid contract', ibid.

Held: The plaintiff's motion to strike the defence is denied.

With respect to the Athens Convention, the proper inquiry is whether the limitation of liability in the plaintiff's ticket is sufficient as a matter of law or whether it is barred by 46 USC § 30527. The plaintiff's alleged incident occurred during her voyage aboard the Norwegian Breakaway which began on 16 May 2023, in Civitavecchia, Italy, and ended on 26 May 2023, when it returned to Civitavecchia, Italy. During the 10-day voyage, the vessel visited other cities in Italy, Greece, and Malta, but it never called on a port in the United States. Given that the plaintiff's cruise never touched a US port, the terms of § 30527 do not apply, so that the limitation of liability provision in the plaintiff's ticket contract 'may be enforceable as a contract term'.