Case Explained: Non-Argument Calendar MAURICE D. CUNNINGHAM v. CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-06

Docket: 1:24-cv-23143-BB

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Carnival Cruise Line on plaintiff Maurice Cunningham’s negligence claim arising from an alleged injury caused by ingesting glass while dining on a cruise ship. The court held that under general maritime law, a carrier owes a duty of reasonable care to passengers only if it had actual or constructive notice of the specific risk-creating condition. Because Cunningham conceded there was no evidence that Carnival knew or should have known about the foreign object in the food prior to the incident, and because his failure to conduct timely discovery prevented him from obtaining such evidence, he could not establish that Carnival owed him a duty of care. The court further ruled that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur did not apply to create an inference of negligence sufficient to satisfy this burden, as the doctrine permits an inference of breach but does not eliminate a plaintiff’s obligation to prove that a duty existed in the first place. Consequently, the judgment for Carnival stands, and Cunningham is barred from proceeding with his claim on the merits.

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