New plaintiffs added to Italian cruise disaster lawsuit filed in US; seeks $520M in damages The USA Times

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

New plaintiffs added to Italian cruise disaster lawsuit filed in US; seeks $520M in damages

MIAMI - New plaintiffs have been added to a revised lawsuit that seeks more than half-billion dollars in damages in last month's Italian cruise ship disaster.

Attorneys said Monday the lawsuit filed in Miami now names 39 individual plaintiffs who were aboard the Costa Concordia when it capsized on Jan. 13 off the Tuscany coast. At least 17 people died and 15 remain missing.

The lawsuit names Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines Inc. and its Costa subsidiary. The new version seeks $520 million in damages.

Many legal experts say it will be difficult to win lawsuits in Florida because Costa's tickets require that they be filed in Italy. Passenger lawyers contend Florida is proper because Carnival Corp. is based there.

Other attorneys have announced plans to file lawsuits for passengers in Florida.