Holladay v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.

334 F.R.D. 628 (2020)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

This case concerns injuries that Holladay (P) sustained while using the Sky Pad attraction aboard Royal Caribbean's (D) Mariner of the Seas ship. A participant using the Sky Pad is positioned on a trampoline and then fitted with a harness with bungee cords attached on either side, enabling the participant to bounce up and down. P was bouncing on the Sky Pad when he became unattached from the harness system after the bungee equipment failed, causing him to fall on the hard deck surface next to the trampoline. The fall resulted in physical injury to P, including pelvic fractures. P contends the report at issue (i.e., a 'draft' report from Celtic Engineering, Inc.) is not work product because the primary purpose for the report was not in anticipation of litigation. D contends that the Celtic Draft Report is protected by the work product doctrine because it engaged Celtic to prepare the report as a consulting expert and the report was prepared in anticipation of litigation. D says it hired both SEA and Celtic to evaluate the Sky Pad bungee 'in order to determine how the incident occurred.' P argues that the Celtic Draft Report is not entitled to work product protection because (1) D regularly uses Celtic as its engineering firm; (2) it arranged for Celtic to review the Sky Pad before the incident; (3) D produced the first, pre-incident report; (4) Celtic's post-incident assessment was simply a continuation of its ongoing business relationship with D for business purposes; and (5) the Draft Report was prepared in the ordinary course of business in order to improve the attraction's overall performance, protect future passengers from potential harm and protect the long-term interests of the company.