Vivian Ruggeri, Appellee/Cross v. NCL (Bahamas) Ltd, Appellant/Cross: Date Argued: January 27th, 2026; Docket Number: 24-10903

Case Summary:In the district court, Vivian Ruggeri won a maritime personal injury action against NCL (Bahamas) Ltd arising from injuries she suffered on a cruise ship tender, and the case is now on cross-appeals in the Eleventh Circuit, where she is the appellee/cross‑appellant and NCL is the appellant/cross‑appellee.At the lower court level, Ruggeri filed suit in the Southern District of Florida (Case No. 20‑cv‑21961‑DPG), alleging that she was injured on October 25, 2019, when an NCL tender ferrying passengers between the pier at Cannes, France and the Norwegian Epic was operated negligently, causing the vessel to pitch and roll and throwing her from side to side so that she grabbed a bench and tore her right rotator cuff, ultimately requiring two shoulder surgeries and extensive treatment. The court held an eight‑day bench trial before Judge Darrin Gayles and, in a Final Judgment entered December 18, 2023, found NCL liable on Count I for negligent failure to warn, rejected NCL’s attempt to limit damages under the Athens Convention based on misleading ticket language, and awarded Ruggeri a total of 1,016,770.54 dollars, consisting of 53,801.99 dollars in economic damages, 800,000 dollars in past non‑economic damages, and 162,968.55 dollars in prejudgment interest, plus post‑judgment interest and taxable costs.In the present court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the case is docketed as No. 24‑10903, styled “Vivian Ruggeri, Appellee/Cross‑Appellant v. NCL (Bahamas) Ltd, Appellant/Cross‑Appellee,” and was argued on January 27, 2026, with NCL appealing the adverse judgment and Ruggeri cross‑appealing aspects of the district court’s rulings.