Spinola v. Costa Line, Inc.

• Decision Date: 19 June 1985
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 84-1053 (JP).
• Citation: 637 F. Supp. 4
• Parties: Susan Boone SPINOLA, Plaintiff, v. COSTA LINE, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

637 F. Supp. 4

Susan Boone SPINOLA, Plaintiff, v. COSTA LINE, INC., Defendant.

Civ. No. 84-1053 (JP).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

June 19, 1985.

Harry A. Ezratty, San Juan, P.R., for plaintiff.

Jimenez & Fuste Law Offices, San Juan, P.R., for defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

PIERAS, District Judge.

This is an action founded on the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of this Court, 28 U.S.C. § 1333. Plaintiff seeks damages allegedly sustained on November 19, 1983, when as a passenger aboard the cruise vessel "CARLA C", she claims to have been sexually molested.

The matter was tried to the Court on February 4, 1985. At Trial, through their witnesses, the parties stated their case as follows:

I. PLAINTIFF'S CASE:

Plaintiff, Susan Boone Spinola, is a twenty-five year old woman from Tampa, Florida. She has an eleventh grade education and since leaving school has worked mostly as a cocktail waitress. In September of 1983 she began work as a cocktail waitress aboard the passenger vessel "CARLA C" during this vessel's Caribbean tour. According to her testimony she disembarked, or left the ship, on October 30, 1983. A short time after leaving the vessel, she married, in San Juan, the bartender with whom she worked aboard the "CARLA C", one Daniele Spinola. She was together with Spinola for one week after their marriage, and thereafter she saw him once a week when the vessel was in San Juan.

On November 18, 1983, plaintiff, together with one Judith Scolovino, purchased tickets as passengers for a one night cruise aboard the "CARLA C". Judith Scolovino, a witness who testified on behalf of plaintiff, had also been employed aboard the "CARLA C" for some eight months as a cocktail waitress/wine stewardess. Both women left San Juan by plane on November 18 for St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The cruise for which the two women had booked passage left St. Thomas that evening and arrived in San Juan the next day in the early morning. They paid $150.00 to travel in the "CARLA C" from St. Thomas to San Juan.

Plaintiff's husband, Daniele Spinola, who was still employed on the vessel on November 18, 1983, did not know that plaintiff would be boarding as a passenger.

After boarding the vessel at St. Thomas, plaintiff and Scolovino left their luggage at the ship and went to the beach for the remainder of the afternoon. Both returned to the ship, changed clothes, and had supper together at about seven o'clock. Boone Spinola spent the remainder of the evening lounging in the bars aboard the ship, watching her husband work, visiting the casino, and just generally talking to people. She further testified that she had very little alcohol consumption, apart from the glass or two of wine she had at dinner. That night plaintiff did not spend much time with her traveling companion Scolovino but, sometime around 12:30 a.m., met her at their cabin. At this time, Scolovino was in the cabin with two other females, identified as "Sherry and Karen", and one male, whose name was not remembered. These persons were talking, drinking champagne, and listening to music. After this meeting, plaintiff returned to the bar areas, and Scolovino remained in the cabin with the other persons.

Plaintiff testified that she returned to her cabin sometime around 3:30 a.m. to change and go to sleep and that her husband, Spinola, had gone to his own cabin in the crew section of the ship. At plaintiff's return, her companion, Scolovino, was already in the cabin sleeping. Plaintiff changed and then proceeded to go to sleep. Both plaintiff and Scolovino remembered the cabin as being very dark.

It is at this point that the incident upon which the complaint is grounded allegedly took place. According to plaintiff's testimony, during the time plaintiff was sleeping, she realized the presence of a man in her bed. Plaintiff testified that she felt half awake, half asleep. During this time, she believed the man in her bed was her husband, Daniele Spinola. Plaintiff stated that the person in her bed took off her underwear, removed her "Tampax" (plaintiff was in her menstrual period), and performed cunnilingus on her.

Scolovino's testimony was to the effect that during the night she awoke noticing a man kneeling at plaintiff's bedside. Scolovino heard moaning and noises like "shush", and "no no" in a low tone of voice, but thought nothing of it because she also believed, and "was sure" that this other person was plaintiff's husband, Daniele Spinola.

Sometime after cunnilingus was over and when the man was then laying next to her in bed, plaintiff testified she came to the realization that the person who was in bed with her was not her husband. After realizing this, plaintiff then told the person to "get away", whereupon the person stood up, and left. At the moment this person opened the door, the cabin companion, Scolovino looked over and, with the aid of the light from the hallway, identified this person as one "Franco", a cabin steward aboard the vessel. They had seen him during the day and, because of his clothes, identified him as a cabin steward.

According to plaintiff's testimony, a short time after he "Franco" left, he reappeared on the scene, opening the door bearing coffee for plaintiff. This time Scolovino forced "Franco" out the door, and said "out Franco". After impeding "Franco's" reentry into the cabin, Scolovino went out to report him. On the way up "Franco" again reappeared and asked Scolovino what she was going to do. Scolovino testified that she reported "Franco" to the Chief Cabin Steward, alleged to be "Franco's" boss, who indicated that he would take care of the matter.

Scolovino testified that, after reporting the incident, she returned to the cabin where she again saw "Franco" outside the door. Inside the cabin were plaintiff and her husband Spinola. Upon seeing the husband in the cabin, Scolovino felt relieved and departed to have breakfast. At this point, according to plaintiff's testimony, her husband and "Franco" engaged in a colloquy in the English language in more or less the following terms:

Husband: "Why did you do this?"

"Franco": "I thought it was joke."

Husband: "This is my wife."

"Franco": "I don't need more trouble, I want you to call my boss and tell him it was a mistake."

Plaintiff testified that she and her husband, Spinola, forgave "Franco" for his act and "Franco" dialed a telephone number. Plaintiff informed whoever answered at the other end that everything was all right. While this was happening, the husband, Spinola, sat quietly.

That morning both plaintiff and Scolovino disembarked and shared a hotel room in San Juan. Thereafter, plaintiff worked on and off as a cocktail waitress. Scolovino returned to work for defendant aboard a different vessel.

II. DEFENDANT'S CASE:

In contraposition to this factual scenario, defendant presented three witnesses. The first was a cabin steward by the name of Franco Mennella. Defendant maintains that on November 18 and 19, 1983, there was only one cabin steward with the name of Franco. A review of the crew list (Joint Exhibit 3) supports this position. Neither plaintiff nor Scolovino implicated Mennella as the "Franco" of the incident in question, and Mennella denied having knowledge of the occurrence.

Defendant's second witness was the Chief Cabin Steward aboard the vessel on November 18 and 19, 1983. Scolovino could not identify him as the man to whom she reported the incident. The Chief Cabin Steward testified that on the night in question he did not receive any complaints about any cabin steward, nor any complaints with respect to any sexual molestation.

The third defense witness, the Chief Purser of the vessel, testified that, with respect to the night in question, he never received any complaint or information about any type of sexual assault or molestation. He further testified that he knew of plaintiff and Scolovino boarding at St. Thomas and had his reservations about this but did not formally object because they had paid a full fare. He further remembered receiving a passenger complaint about a "loud party" in cabin 736, the cabin shared by plaintiff and Scolovino. He also recalled that he had seen plaintiff and Scolovino drinking at different bars aboard ship on the night in question.

III. CONCLUSIONS OF FACT:

Having heard the contending versions at trial, and having had the opportunity to closely examine the demeanor of the witnesses, especially with respect to the manner in which the central incident was related, the Court finds, as a matter of fact, that the sexual molestation alleged by plaintiff did not take place. The inconsistencies are too many and the gaps in the evidence too wide for this Court to find otherwise.

First, the Court cannot accept at face value the account advanced by plaintiff and the witness Scolovino. It is not credible that plaintiff could for so long a period of time remain under the mistaken impression that s...