You live in New Jersey, you boarded in Bayonne and you got hurt on the ship. So why does your cruise ticket say any lawsuit must be filed in Miami? It's a forum-selection clause, and the U.S. Supreme Court has held that cruise lines can generally enforce them.

The short answer

  • Most major cruise lines' U.S. tickets require injury lawsuits in one named court. For many lines that's the federal court in Miami.
  • The Supreme Court upheld this kind of clause in Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (1991).
  • Federal law bars a cruise line from taking away your right to a trial in court for injury or death (46 U.S.C. § 30527), but it can choose which court.
  • Filing in the wrong court can cost you the one-year deadline.

What the clause says

Royal Caribbean's U.S. ticket contract, for example, says disputes are to be litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami-Dade County, or in a Miami-Dade state court if the federal court lacks jurisdiction. Other lines use similar language naming their home courts. The exact wording is in the version of the ticket that applied to your sailing, so read it before deciding where to file.

Why courts enforce it

In Shute, a Washington State couple was hurt on a Carnival cruise and sued at home. The Supreme Court held the Florida clause was enforceable. It reasoned that a cruise line has a legitimate interest in limiting the places it can be sued, that passengers may benefit through lower fares, and that the clause wasn't unfair because Carnival is based in Florida and the passengers had notice of it.

Courts still ask whether the ticket reasonably communicated the clause. In practice, passengers usually accept the terms online during booking or check-in, and courts typically find that enough.

What happens if you sue in New Jersey anyway

The cruise line will usually ask the court to send the case where the ticket says. The Supreme Court has held that federal courts should ordinarily enforce a valid forum clause by transferring the case under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) (Atlantic Marine Construction Co. v. U.S. District Court, 571 U.S. 49 (2013)).

That's exactly what happened to one New Jersey passenger. In La Huff-Berry v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., No. 19-cv-7946 (D.N.J.), a passenger who hurt her knee on board sued in federal court in New Jersey. The court enforced the ticket's clause and transferred the case to the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.

A transfer keeps the case alive. A dismissal may not. Florida's state appellate court, for example, reversed a trial court that had refused to dismiss a passenger's Miami-Dade state court case filed days before the one-year deadline, holding the ticket required federal court (Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. v. Clarke, Fla. 3d DCA 2014). Choosing the right court the first time matters.

What the cruise line can't do

For passenger ships sailing to or from U.S. ports, 46 U.S.C. § 30527 voids any contract term that limits:

  • the cruise line's liability for injury or death caused by its own or its crew's negligence; or
  • your right to a trial by a court of competent jurisdiction for injury or death.

That's why cruise lines rely on forum clauses rather than mandatory arbitration for passenger injury claims. A forum clause decides where you sue, not whether you can.

The same section does allow tickets to limit claims for purely emotional injury, except where the distress comes from a physical injury, an actual risk of physical injury caused by negligence, intentional conduct, or a sexual assault or harassment case (46 U.S.C. § 30527(b)).

Other terms that usually travel with the clause

  • Short deadlines: written notice within 6 months and suit within 1 year. See cruise injury claim deadlines.
  • Class action waivers for passenger claims.
  • Choice of law: U.S. general maritime law usually governs.
  • Jury waivers in some contracts, which courts may treat differently depending on the court where the case is heard.

Do you need a Florida lawyer?

A lawsuit in federal court in Miami has to be filed by a lawyer admitted to that court. Some cases are handled with co-counsel admitted there. A New Jersey lawyer can still evaluate the claim, gather records, send the written notice on time and stay your main point of contact. Not every case needs to be filed in Florida: claims against a terminal operator, the Port Authority or another company that isn't covered by the ticket may belong in New Jersey or New York. See injuries at Cape Liberty or a NYC terminal.

For the full picture, see our cruise ship injury lawyer page.

General information, not legal advice. Each cruise line's ticket contract is different and can change; check the version that applied to your sailing.