MIAMI — A federal magistrate judge has recommended confirmation of an arbitral award reached in the case of a former Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) steward who claims the company refused to pay for surgery after she suffered a spinal injury in an onboard incident.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres, on the bench in Florida's Southern District, had to decide the recommendation between NCL's motion to confirm the arbitration award and former steward Shera Hodgson Williams' motion to vacate the award. In her nine-page report and recommendation issued Nov. 6, Judge Torres sided with NCL.
"Following our review of the respective arguments advanced by both parties, in addition to the legal authorities governing the underlying dispute, we hereby recommend that defendant's motion be granted, plaintiff's motion be denied and the arbitral award be confirmed," Judge Torres said in her report
Williams was a restaurant steward for NCL (Bahamas) Ltd. in July 2013 when she began to experience back pain, according to the background portion of Judge Torres' report. Williams and NCL do not agree about what caused the onset of Williams' back problems, with Williams claiming she slipped while carrying trays in the galley and NCL denying that happened.
"Nevertheless, Plaintiff received medical care and underwent conservative treatment arranged for by the cruise line as part of its maintenance and cure obligation to seafaring employees," Judge Torres' report said.
Maintenance and cure generally refers to a vessel owner’s obligation to provide food, lodging, and medical services when a seaman is injured aboard ship, according to a footnote in Judge Torres' report.
This April, an arbitrator found in favor of NCL and rejected Williams' claim that the NCL should pay for her surgery, saying Williams' symptoms "were less than credible."
Judge Torres also was not impressed with Williams' arguments raised in her motion vacate the arbitrator's decision. In her report, Judge Torres said Williams' arguments "are unavailing" and that she was not convinced Williams "bore an objectively unreasonable belief that she would prevail by challenging the award in this court."
Judge Torres also admitted that the scope of judicial reviews of arbitral decisions is limited, and that "a court must give considerable leeway to the arbitrator, setting aside his or her decision only in narrow circumstances.”
"As the Supreme Court has noted, in bilateral arbitration, parties forgo the procedural rigor and appellate review of the courts in order to realize the benefits of private dispute resolution: lower costs, greater efficiency and speed, and the ability to choose expert adjudicators to resolve specialized disputes," Judge Torres continued in her report. "Here, the record provides nothing that would allow us to overturn the award or find the arbitrator's decision void as a matter of public policy. For that reason, Plaintiff’s Motion to Vacate should be denied."