Judge Denies John Travolta's Unusual Arguments for Arbitration in Cruise-Ship Case
The ruling means the suit -- in which a ship attendant claims Travolta exposed himself and "forcefully embraced" the staffer following a neck message -- won't be litigated in secret.
John Travolta
A judge has ruled that John Travolta's ticket aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship in June 2009 wasn't a ticket to arbitration.
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Fabian Zanzi, a ship attendant, filed a lawsuit against Travolta for assault and battery and infliction of emotional distress in June. The plaintiff says that upon request, he gave Travolta a neck massage on the cruise ship. Travolta allegedly disrobed, exposed himself and then "forcefully embraced" him.
Travolta has denied the allegations, and his attorney has threatened to sue the plaintiff for malicious prosecution. But one of the first legal moves in this case was an attempt by Travolta to compel arbitration by pointing to the fine print of his ticket.
On Friday, a California federal judge rejected Travolta's arguments in a 31-page ruling.
Anytime anybody buys a ticket -- whether it's for a concert, a ballgame or a cruise ship -- the purchaser agrees to certain things that are usually printed on the ticket. These stipulations are typically written by lawyers for the protection of the seller.
In this instance, Travolta flipped the usual script, attempting to gain advantage from the "Cruise Tour Ticket Contract" by having it deemed to be an agreement to send any dispute between a passenger and a cruise employee into arbitration.
The advantages of arbitration are speed, more control over proceedings and, of course, secrecy.
Unfortunately for Travolta, the judge isn't buying the arbitration arguments made by Travolta's attorneyMarty Singer.
"This argument misses the mark," Judge StephenWilson writes in his ruling. "The pertinent inquiry is not whether Plaintiff's dispute falls within the Cruise Contract's arbitration provision (it might), but rather whether Plaintiff may be compelled to arbitrate despite being a non-signatory."
In other words, the contract was between Caribbean and Travolta, and the judge adds there is no evidence that Caribbean was authorized to bind Zanzi to the Cruise Tour Ticket Contract.
Travolta's attorney attempted other arguments to get this into arbitration. One was that Caribbean was acting on Zanzi's behalf in making the contract under an "agency theory." Another was that Zanzi was a "third party beneficiary" of the contract. Neither argument was successful with the judge.
Finally, Travolta also argued that Zanzi was equitably estopped from refusing to arbitrate because the plaintiff's claims are factually interwoven with Zanzi's separate dispute with Royal Caribbean.
As Zanzi pursues Travolta in open court over an alleged neck massage gone bad, the plaintiff is also in the midst of arbitration against Royal Caribbean, claiming that he was falsely imprisoned by his employer. After Zanzi says he reported the Travolta incident to his superiors in June 2009, Zanzi claims he was ordered to stay in a "segregated room" for five days until Travolta left the ship.
Here, Travolta's attorneys looked to take advantage of Zanzi's employment agreement, which also covered arbitration. Except in this case, Travolta was the non-signatory.
The problem is that the judge doesn't perceive enough connection. One dispute deals with alleged assault and battery. The other dispute involves an unlawful confinement. Further, the judge says, "There is no evidence that Defendant's assault and Royal Caribbean's subsequent response were interdependent or concerted."
Judge Wilson examines the possibility that a relationship might be forged from Zanzi's allegations that the cruise ship put him in harm's way despite its knowledge of Travolta's "propensities" or the fact that Travolta was provided with large amounts of alcohol.
Ultimately, the judge says it's not enough to ship this dispute into arbitration.
E-mail: eriq.gardner@thr.com; Twitter: @eriqgardner
Where's my present? Suri Cruise looks glum as she carries a giant gift to a party with Katie Holmes
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Her seventh birthday doesn't happen for another two months.
And Katie Holmes' daughter Suri looked glum as she carried an enormous gift box alongside her famous mother in Manhattan Sunday.
The six-year-old girly girl bundled up in a purple coat, pink scarf, pink-striped dress, and sparkly tights with matching Uggs.
Two more months until her seventh birthday: Katie Holmes' daughter Suri looked glum as she carried an enormous gift box alongside her famous mother in Manhattan Sunday
The brunette cutie, whose father is Tom Cruise, finished her party-going look with a flowered headband and a very serious grimace.
Holding Suri's white giraffe doll, the 34-year-old actress wore a brightly patterned dress under a black woolen coat, black tights, and matching booties.
But by Monday morning the Dawson's Creek star was up early for breakfast with her lawyer Jonathan Wolfe, who warmly embraced Katie after their meal.
Mother-daughter style: The six-year-old girly girl bundled up in a purple coat and pink ensemble, while her 34-year-old mother covered her brightly-coloured dress with a black woolen coat
Party time? The brunette cutie, whose father is Tom Cruise, finished her party-going look with a flowered headband and a very serious grimace
According to New York Post's Page Six, the former Mrs. Cruise was bowling with a male companion at Lucky Strike Lanes in Hell's Kitchen until 1 am Wednesday night.
The pair appeared to be 'just friends' and they drank 'a few beers' as Holmes, dressed in 'floral overalls,' scored a 152.
However Katie, who's been single seven months, is said to be concerned about opening up and trusting another man after her 'controlling' five-year marriage to the 50-year-old Scientologist.
Business breakfast: The Dawson's Creek star was up early Monday morning for breakfast with her lawyer Jonathan Wolfe
Starting to date: The former Mrs. Cruise was bowling with a different male companion at Lucky Strike Lanes in Hell's Kitchen until 1 am Wednesday night
'Katie’s in a dilemma, because she wants to date but is concerned where it could lead to from there,' a family insider told Radar Online.
Seven months single: Katie is said to be concerned about opening up and trusting another man after her 'controlling' five-year marriage to Cruise
'She’s worried that if she commits herself fully to another man, she will have to give up the freedom she’s enjoying so much at the moment. As a single woman, she has no one controlling her nowadays, telling her what to do or who to see and she absolutely loves it!'
The source said Holmes is content hanging with her 'best friend' Suri for the time being, but she 'does eventually want to find a man she can be that close with as well.'
The Batman Begins star is currently looking for work following the abrupt end of her Broadway show Dead Accounts, which closed at the Music Box Theatre on January 6.
According to the New York Times, the play made just under 25 percent of its potential gross during the week ending December 23.
The actress-turned-fashion designer will next appear alongside Jean Reno, Allison Janney, and William Hurt in a yet-to-be-titled Christian Camargo drama, which is a modern retelling of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.
She'll also star opposite Gossip Girl hunk Chace Crawford in the romantic comedy Responsible Adults, about a man who realizes that his crush was his babysitter 15 years ago.
Meanwhile, Suri's father is hard at work battling aliens in the film All You Need is Kill.
The Groundhog Day-style action sci-fi flick, due out March 2014, also stars Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2273379/Katie-Holmes-daughter-Suri-looks-glum-carrying-giant-present.html#ixzz2JzYt9eYi
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