Krupski v. Costa Crociere S. P. Angeles, No. 09–337.

• Citation: 130 S.Ct. 2485,177 L.Ed.2d 48,560 U.S. 538
• Decision Date: 07 June 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09–337.
• Parties: Wanda KRUPSKI, Petitioner, v. COSTA CROCIERE S. p. A.
• Court: United States Supreme Court

560 U.S. 538

130 S.Ct. 2485

177 L.Ed.2d 48

Wanda KRUPSKI, Petitioner,

v.COSTA CROCIERE S. p. A.

No. 09–337.

Supreme Court of the United States

Argued April 21, 2010.

Decided June 7, 2010.

Mark R. Bendure

, Detroit, MI, for petitioner.

Robert S. Glazier

, Miami, FL, for respondent.

Mark R. Bendure

, Counsel of Record, Bendure & Thomas, Detroit, MI, Matthew L. Turner, Turner & Turner, P.C., Southfield, MI, for petitioner.

David J. Horr

, Stephanie H. Wylie, Brian T. Scarry, Horr, Novak & Skipp, P.A., Miami, FL, Robert S. Glazier, Counsel of Record, Law Office of Robert S. Glazier, Miami, FL, for respondent.Opinion

Justice SOTOMAYOR

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Rule 15(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

governs when an amended pleading “relates back” to the date of a timely filed original pleading and is thus itself timely even though it was filed outside an applicable statute of limitations. Where an amended pleading changes a party or a party's name, the Rule requires, among other things, that “the party to be brought in by amendment ... knew or should have known that the action would have been brought against it, but for a mistake concerning the proper party's identity.” Rule 15(c)(1)(C). In this case, the Court of Appeals held that Rule 15(c) was not satisfied because the plaintiff knew or should have known of the proper defendant before filing her original complaint. The court also held that relation back was not appropriate because the plaintiff had unduly delayed in seeking to amend. We hold that relation back under Rule 15(c)(1)(C)

depends on what the party to be added knew or should have known, not on the amending party's knowledge or its timeliness in seeking to amend the pleading. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

I

On February 21, 2007, petitioner, Wanda Krupski, tripped over a cable and fractured her femur

while she was on board the cruise ship Costa Magica. Upon her return home, she acquired counsel and began the process of seeking compensation for her injuries. Krupski's passenger ticket—which explained that it was the sole contract between each passenger and the carrier, App. to Pet. for Cert. 37a—included a variety of requirements for obtaining damages for an injury suffered on board one of the carrier's ships. The ticket identified the carrier as

“Costa Crociere S. p. A., an Italian corporation, and all Vessels and other ships owned, chartered, operated, marketed or provided by Costa Crociere, S. p. A., and all officers, staff members, crew members, independent contractors, medical providers, concessionaires, pilots, suppliers, agents and assigns onboard said Vessels, and the manufacturers of said Vessels and all their component parts.” Id., at 27a.

The ticket required an injured party to submit “written notice of the claim with full particulars ... to the carrier or its duly authorized agent within 185 days after the date of injury.” Id., at 28a. The ticket further required any lawsuit to be “filed within one year after the date of injury” and to be “served upon the carrier within 120 days after filing.” Ibid. For cases arising from voyages departing from or returning to a United States port in which the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000, the ticket designated the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Broward County, Florida, as the exclusive forum for a lawsuit. Id., at 36a. The ticket extended the “defenses, limitations and exceptions ... that may be invoked by the CARRIER” to “all persons who may act on behalf of the CARRIER or on whose behalf the CARRIER may act,” including “the CARRIER's parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, assigns, representatives, agents, employees, servants, concessionaires and contractors” as well as “Costa Cruise Lines N. V.,” identified as the “sales and marketing agent for the CARRIER and the issuer of this Passage Ticket Contract.” Id., at 29a. The front of the ticket listed Costa Cruise Lines' address in Florida and stated that an entity called “Costa Cruises” was “the first cruise company in the world” to obtain a certain certification of quality. Id., at 25a.

On July 2, 2007, Krupski's counsel notified Costa Cruise Lines of Krupski's claims. App. 69–70. On July 9, 2007, the claims administrator for Costa Cruise requested additional information from Krupski “[i]n order to facilitate our future attempts to achieve a pre-litigation settlement.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 23a–24a. The parties were unable to reach a settlement, however, and on February 1, 2008—three weeks before the 1–year limitations period expired—Krupski filed a negligence action against Costa Cruise, invoking the diversity jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The complaint alleged that Costa Cruise “owned, operated, managed, supervised and controlled” the ship on which Krupski had injured herself; that Costa Cruise had extended to its passengers an invitation to enter onto the ship; and that Costa Cruise owed Krupski a duty of care, which it breached by failing to take steps that would have prevented her accident. App. 23–26. The complaint further stated that venue was proper under the passenger ticket's forum selection clause and averred that, by the July 2007 notice of her claims, Krupski had complied with the ticket's presuit requirements. Id., at 23. Krupski served Costa Cruise on February 4, 2008.

Over the next several months—after the limitations period had expired—Costa Cruise brought Costa Crociere's existence to Krupski's attention three times. First, on February 25, 2008, Costa Cruise filed its answer, asserting that it was not the proper defendant, as it was merely the North American sales and marketing agent for Costa Crociere, which was the actual carrier and vessel operator. Id., at 31. Second, on March 20, 2008, Costa Cruise listed Costa Crociere as an interested party in its corporate disclosure statement. App. to Pet. for Cert. 20a. Finally, on May 6, 2008, Costa Cruise moved for summary judgment, again stating that Costa Crociere was the proper defendant. App. 5, 33–38.

On June 13, 2008, Krupski responded to Costa Cruise's motion for summary judgment, arguing for limited discovery to determine whether Costa Cruise should be dismissed. According to Krupski, the following sources of information led her to believe Costa Cruise was the responsible party: The travel documents prominently identified Costa Cruise and gave its Florida address; Costa Cruise's Web site listed Costa Cruise in Florida as the United States office for the Italian company Costa Crociere; and the Web site of the Florida Department of State listed Costa Cruise as the only “Costa” company registered to do business in that State. Id., at 43–45, 56–59. Krupski also observed that Costa Cruise's claims administrator had responded to her claims notification without indicating that Costa Cruise was not a responsible party. Id., at 45. With her response, Krupski simultaneously moved to amend her complaint to add Costa Crociere as a defendant. Id., at 41–42, 52–54.

On July 2, 2008, after oral argument, the District Court denied Costa Cruise's motion for summary judgment without prejudice and granted Krupski leave to amend, ordering that Krupski effect proper service on Costa Crociere by September 16, 2008. Id., at 71–72. Complying with the court's deadline, Krupski filed an amended complaint on July 11, 2008, and served Costa Crociere on August 21, 2008. Id., at 73, 88–89. On that same date, the District Court issued an order dismissing Costa Cruise from the case pursuant to the parties' joint stipulation, Krupski apparently having concluded that Costa Cruise was correct that it bore no responsibility for her injuries. Id., at 85–86.

Shortly thereafter, Costa Crociere—represented by the same counsel who had represented Costa Cruise, compare id., at 31, with id., at 100—moved to dismiss, contending that the amended complaint did not relate back under Rule 15(c)

and was therefore untimely. The District Court agreed. App. to Pet. for Cert. 8a–22a. Rule 15(c), the court explained, imposes three requirements before an amended complaint against a newly named defendant can relate back to the original complaint. First, the claim against the newly named defendant must have arisen “out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set out—or attempted to be set out—in the original pleading.” Fed. Rules Civ. Proc. 15(c)(1)(B), (C). Second, “within the period provided by Rule 4(m) for serving the summons and complaint” (which is ordinarily 120 days from when the complaint is filed, see Rule 4(m)), the newly named defendant must have “received such notice of the action that it will not be prejudiced in defending on the merits.” Rule 15(c)(1)(C)(i)

. Finally, the plaintiff must show that, within the Rule 4(m) period, the newly named defendant “knew or should have known that the action would have been brought against it, but for a mistake concerning the proper party's identity.” Rule 15(c)(1)(C)(ii).

The first two conditions posed no problem, the court explained: The claim against Costa Crociere clearly involved the same occurrence as the original claim against Costa Cruise, and Costa Crociere had constructive notice of the action and had not shown that any unfair prejudice would result from relation back. App. to Pet. for Cert. 14a–18a. But the court found the third condition fatal to Krupski's attempt to relate back, concluding that Krupski had not made a mistake concerning the identity of the proper party. Id., at 18a–21a. Relying on Eleventh Circuit precedent, the court explained that the word “mistake” should not be construed to encompass a deliberate decision not to sue a party whose identity the plaintiff knew before the statute of limitations had run. Because Costa Cruise informed Krupski that Costa Crociere was the proper defendant in its answer, corporate disclosure statement, and motion for summary judgment, and...