EHART V. LAHAINA DIVERS, INC., No. 22-16149 (9th Cir. 2024)
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In this case heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the plaintiff's wife died during a scuba and snorkeling tour from Lahaina Harbor to Molokini Crater, an atoll off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. Before the tour, the plaintiff and his wife each signed a waiver document releasing their rights to sue the defendants. The plaintiff's claims were based on gross negligence and simple negligence. The defendants argued that the waiver and release were an affirmative defense to the claims based on simple negligence. However, the district court struck the defense, stating that the liability waivers were void under 46 U.S.C. § 30527(a), which prohibits certain liability waivers for vessels transporting passengers between ports in the United States or between a port in the United States and a port in a foreign country.
The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's order and held that the term "between ports in the United States" in 46 U.S.C. § 30527(a) refers to transportation between at least two separate ports in the United States. Therefore, the statute does not apply to vessels that transport passengers away from and back to a single port without stopping at any other port. The Court remanded the case for further proceedings.
Court Description: Admiralty Law. The panel reversed the district court’s order granting plaintiff’s motion to strike an affirmative defense of waiver or release and remanded for further proceedings in a wrongful death admiralty action.
Plaintiff’s claims arose from his wife’s death during a scuba and snorkeling tour from Lahaina Harbor to Molokini Crater, an atoll off the coast of Maui. Before the tour, plaintiff and his wife each signed a waiver document releasing rights to sue defendants. Defendants asserted waiver and release as an affirmative defense to claims based on simple negligence. The district court struck the defense on the basis that the liability waivers were void under 46 U.S.C. § 30527(a), which prohibits certain liability waivers regarding “vessel[s] transporting passengers between ports in the United States, or between a port in the United States and a port in a foreign country.” Citing Wallis v. Princess Cruises, Inc., 306 F.3d 827 (9th Cir. 2002) (finding jurisdiction to review the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment limiting the defendant’s liability in accordance with a clause on the back of a cruise ship ticket), the panel held that it had jurisdiction to review the district court’s interlocutory order under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1292(a)(3) because the order determined the rights and liabilities of parties in an admiralty case.
On the merits, the panel held that, under the plain meaning of “between ports in the United States,” § 30527(a) does not apply to liability waivers as to vessels that transport passengers away from and back to a single port without stopping at any other port.
Dissenting, Judge Collins wrote that he would dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the majority greatly expanded the court’s already overbroad construction of 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(3). He would hold that Wallis is distinguishable because there, the district court imposed an across-the-board limitation on the defendants’ liability. Judge Collins also disagreed with the majority’s interpretation of 46 U.S.C. § 30527(a).
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