The Respondents, The Shutes, was a couple from the State of Washington that purchased cruise tickets through a local travel agent for a 7-day cruise on the petitioner’s ship, the Tropicale. The Shute’s paid the fare to the travel agent who forwarded the payment to Carnival Cruise Lines (“Carnival”) headquarters in Miami, Florida. Carnival then prepared the tickets and sent them directly to the respondents' home in Washington.
The face of each ticket contained an admonition that the conditions of the contract on the last pages were “IMPORTANT” and should be read. The language on the face of each ticket referred to the acknowledgment and agreement by all passengers of all the terms and conditions contained in the Passage Contract Ticket. Among the terms assented to by accepting the Carnival’s ticket was a forum selection clause. which required “all disputes and matters whatsoever arising under, in connection with or incident to this Contract. to be litigated, if at all, in and before a Court located in the State of Florida.”
Shortly after receiving the tickets, the Shutes traveled to Los Angeles, California where they boarded the Tropicale. During their ship's journey from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico back to Los Angeles, respondent, Eulala Shute, slipped and fell on a deck mat during a guided tour of the ship’s galley. Following this incident, the Shutes filed suit against Carnival in the District Court of Washington on the grounds that Eulala Shute’s injuries were caused by the negligence of the petitioner and its employees.
Carnival moved for summary judgment. contending that the Washington district court lacked personal jurisdiction since the forum selection clause required the Shute’s to bring suit in Florida.