"Bern’s civil complaint against Costa Cruises and its operator, Miami-based Carnival Corporation, faces a major legal problem because of where the lawsuit is being filed, according to legal experts. Included in the fine print on the back of each passenger ticket voucher is a clause stating all lawsuits against the cruise liner must be filed in the country where the company is based. The headquarters for Costa Cruises is Genoa, Italy.
"The lawsuit really faces an uphill battle here in Miami, given the fact that the contract is enforceable," Jerry Hamilton, a Miami-based maritime attorney told FoxNews.com.
Hamilton said the 120 American passengers on board the Costa Concordia "gave up their right" to where they can file a lawsuit when they boarded the cruise liner Jan. 13 in Civitavecchia, Italy."The accident occurred in Italy, the investigation is in Italy, the evidence and witnesses are in Italy and the majority of the passengers are Italian," said Hamilton. "The court will say that this lawsuit belongs in Italy."
But Bern claims the extraordinary nature of the accident off the Tuscan coast – which killed at least 16 people – should make the criteria on the ticket "null and void."
"You don’t expect that when you get on this Costa Concordia ship in Rome that you are about to become the next Titanic," Bern said. "Nobody signed a contract," he continued. "They got their ticket" and in doing so, "agreed to those terms and conditions of which they had no knowledge.""Nobody says ‘OK, now before you accept this, read the back of the ticket to make sure you understand how your rights are being limited,'" he said. "I can’t image any are aware of the limitation imposed upon [them] on a ticket," he said. While Hamilton said there is nothing preventing U.S. passengers from filing suit in Italy, he noted that under Italian law there is a cap on the damages.
Other attorneys claim filing a lawsuit in Italy is complicated, and costly for the plaintiffs involved."
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/01/27/costa-concordia-civil-lawsuit-to-be-filed-in-miami-may-face-legal-hurdle/