The plaintiff alleged personal injuries during a lifeboat drill on a cruise aboard the Seabourn Pride owned/operated by the defendants. The cruise originated in Canada and made port calls in New York and two other US ports. The plaintiff claimed that the life vest he was required to wear as part of the lifeboat drill obscured his vision during his return to his state room, causing him to fall down a staircase. The plaintiff disembarked the vessel at a Canadian port, before any of the US port calls.

The defendants moved for summary judgment on limitation pursuant to the Athens Convention 1974 as incorporated into the ticket/contract of passage, and the plaintiff argued that 46 USC § 183c (now 46 USC § 30509) prohibited contractual limitation of liability for any passenger cruise calling on US ports.

Held: The defendants' motion is denied; 46 USC § 183c (now 46 USC § 30509) invalidates any attempted incorporation of the Athens Convention limitation of liability. The plaintiff’s disembarkation before the US port calls was irrelevant because the validity of the contract term under the statute rests not on the geographic location of the plaintiff when he is injured but upon the voyage itinerary included in the contract of passage.