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Update 2/14/2012: The law firm of Proner & Proner is highly experienced in filing both class-action and individual claims, having recovered millions of dollars on behalf of our clients in both types of litigation. After evaluating the legal issues surrounding a class action in this particular case, we feel that filing a class-action on behalf of victims of the Costa Concordia cruise ship accident is not in their best interests at this point. Instead, we have filed individual actions collectively out of the belief that approaching this case as a mass tort rather than a class action will result in the greatest likelihood of our clients receiving the most significant economic recovery possible.

Moment by moment, we are analyzing all of the variables that impact on this case, and as of now, we remain unconvinced that bringing a class action is the proper strategy to take on behalf of the Costa Concordia victims we are representing from all over the world. Our primary goal is to see that those passengers who have suffered so greatly as a result of this needless tragedy are able to obtain the full measure of damages to which they are entitled.

If you or someone you love was on board the Costa Concordia when the shipwreck occurred, it is imperative that you contact Proner & Proner immediately to ensure that your rights are protected.

Archived Article: 1/30/2011

Mitchell Proner, who is partnering with another US law firm as well as the Italian consumer association Codacons to file a class action lawsuit against the owners and operators of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, told Reuters that he is consulting with a group of lawyers whose collective experience handling maritime cases is the most ever assembled on a single case "in the history of the world."

While Costa Cruise Lines and its parent company, Carnival Cruise Lines, have yet to comment specifically on the lawsuit, Costa Cruise Lines has made overtures to compensate passengers, most recently an offer of $14,500 plus a refund and costs of travel home to non-injured passengers that Proner has dismissed as "completely inadequate."  The initial offer made by Costa Cruise Lines included a 30-percent discount on future cruises, which has drawn the ire of many, including Proner.

At present, it is unknown as to whether the US courts will accept the class-action claim, given that the conditions set forth by the cruise ship tickets specify that litigation must take place in the Italian courts.  Proner and his fellow litigants, however, are confident that the US courts will respond to the egregiousness of the negligence in this particular case and place the protection of the victims' rights ahead of the terms established by the cruise lines.

The full story produced by Reuters can be read online.