Section 11.30 Passengers

• Library: Tort Law 2016

A. (§11.30) Passengers

A passenger is one who travels in a public conveyance by virtue of a contract with a carrier, express or implied, paying fare or something accepted as an equivalent. The Vueltabajo, 163 F. 594 (S.D. Ala. 1908). A carrier of passengers, if a common carrier, owes the duty of safe transportation, i.e., to safely embark a passenger, carry the passenger to the passenger’s destination, and safely land the passenger. SeeKornberg v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc., 741 F.2d 1332 (11^th Cir. 1984). This includes protecting the passenger from harm at the hands of the crew and fellow passengers, and injury attributable to the negligence of the vessel. A vessel owner can be held vicariously liable for intentional torts committed by its crewmembers to passengers. See Morton v. De Oliveira, 984 F.2d 289 (9^th Cir. 1993); Doe v. Celebrity Cruises, 145 F. Supp. 2d 1337 (S.D. Fla. 2001). The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the relevant portion of the district court’s decision in Doe, 145 F. Supp. 2d 1337, holding that carriers "owe a non-delegable duty to protect their passengers from crew member assaults." Doe v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., 394 F.3d 891, 913 (11^th Cir. 2004). There is, however, a split of authority, and in Jaffess v. Home Lines, Inc., No. 85 CIV. 7365 (MJL), 1990 A.M.C. 1430, 1988 WL 42049...