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Victor Allan Clark v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., et al.

Paid petition · District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District, No. 3D18-1233 · judgment April 24, 2019

Certiorari denied · June 29, 2020
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

I. Does the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. §§ 30104, 30509 (adopting by reference 45 U.S.C. §§ 55, 56) render void a foreign forum selection clause in a Seaman’s employment contract which calls for him to provide labor to a business incorporated in Michigan as a crewmember aboard ships carrying passengers to and from ports of the United States? II. Do the substantive contract principals of the general maritime law allow the owners of those ships (both headquartered in Florida) to enforce a forum selection clause in a Seaman’s employment contract as a “Third Party Beneficiaries” when they are not parties to or named in the contract?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jessica Pierce Quiggle
Billera Law

For respondent
Jeffrey B. Crockett
Coffey Burlington, P.L.

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Jun 29 2020
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jun 09 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/25/2020.
  3. May 22 2020
    Brief of respondents Celebrity Cruises, Inc., et al. in opposition filed.
  4. Feb 20 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 27, 2020)