Recently in Injury & Tort Law Category

In a wrongful death action brought by survivors of passengers killed in a plane crash, dismissal of the action on forum non conveniens grounds in favor of litigation in Martinique is affirmed where: 1) the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air did not bar dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds because there was no ambiguity or limitation in the express language of Article 33(4) of the Convention, which stated in no uncertain terms that questions of procedure --- which could only reasonably be read to include all questions of procedure -- are governed by the rules of the forum state; and 2) with respect to the availability of evidence and witnesses, the analysis strongly favored Martinique, the residence of all the plaintiffs.

Read Pierre-Louis v. NewVac Corp., No. 07-15828

Appellate Information

Filed October 8, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Barkett

In a personal injury action based on a slip and fall accident at defendants' hotel, the dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where a forum selection clause signed by plaintiffs restricted them to filing suit in The Bahamas and plaintiffs had a reasonable opportunity to consider and reject the clause.

Read Krenkel v. Kerzner Int'l. Hotels Ltd., No. 08-15971

Appellate Information

Filed August 19, 2009

Judges

Per Curiam

In an action claiming that defendant caused the torture of plaintiffs based on their leadership of a Guatemalan national labor union, dismissal of the complaint on forum non conveniens grounds is affirmed where Guatemala was an available alternate forum for the claims, and all the relevant evidence was located in Guatemala.

Read Aldana v. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., No. 07-15471

Appellate Information

Filed August 13, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Marcus

In an action claiming that plaintiffs-trade union leaders' employers, two bottling companies, collaborated with Colombian paramilitary forces to murder and torture plaintiffs, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where defendants were not vicariously liable for the acts of plaintiffs' employers due to lack of day-to-day control over their operations.

Read Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co., No. 06-15851

Appellate Information

Filed August 11, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Black

In an indemnity action by a ship owner to recover sums paid to settle an underlying maritime personal injury action, judgment for defendants is: 1) affirmed in part where the parties' agreement precluded recovering consequential damages or other indirect damages; but 2) reversed in part, where plaintiffs could proceed under federal maritime law on either a strict liability or negligence basis.

Read Cooper v. Meridian Yachts, Ltd., No. 08-13830

Appellate Information

Filed July 21, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Trager

In a personal injury action involving a slip and fall aboard Defendant cruise line, the District Court's order granting Defendant's motion to compel arbitration is reversed where, under the parties' agreement, the dispute at issue must have some actual relation to the agreement to arbitrate, irrespective of what ship the claims originated from and when suit was brought. 

Read Thomas v. Carnival Corp., No. 08-10613

Appellate Information

Filed July 1, 2009

Judges

Per Curiam

In a negligence suit arising out of an accident in which Plaintiff's husband was injured while serving in Iraq, the dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where the political question doctrine barred the suit because adjudicating Plaintiff's claims would require extensive reexamination and second-guessing of many sensitive judgments surrounding the conduct of a military convoy in war time.

Read Carmichael v. Kellogg, Brown & Root Serv., Inc., No. 08-14487

Appellate Information

Filed June 30, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Marcus

In an action for publishing nude photos of Plaintiff's decedent in violation of her right of publicity, the dismissal of the complaint is reversed where the photos did not fall under Georgia's newsworthiness exception to the right of publicity.

Read Toffoloni v. LFP Publishing Group, LLC, No. 08-16148

Appellate Information

Filed June 25, 2009

Judges

Per Curiam

In a tort action arising out of the death of an Air Force reservist in an airplane crash, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed, where Defendant was shielded from state law tort liability by the military contractor defense, and could rely on post-design, post-production evidence in proving that defense.

Read Brinson v. Raytheon Co., No. 08-12308

Appellate Information

Filed June 24, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Anderson

In a Privacy Act action by veterans based on the Department of Veterans Affairs' loss of private information regarding the veterans, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed in part, where Plaintiffs offered insufficient evidence of monetary damages; but reversed in part, where declaratory and injunctive relief was nonetheless available under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Read the full decision in Fanin v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, No. 08-11102.

Appellate Information:

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Filed on June 17, 2009

Judges:

Before TJOFLAT and CARNES, Circuit Judges, and HOOD, District Judge. Honorable Joseph M. Hood, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, sitting by designation.
Opinion by CARNES, Circuit Judge.