Hauser v. Moore

Plaintiff Blaine Shultz sued Florida Keys Dive Center, Inc. ("Dive Center") and its employees Gregory Hessinger and John Brady and owners Pamela Timmerman and Thomas Timmerman for the wrongful death of his wife, Patricia Shultz, who died of an apparent drowning while scuba diving on a trip conducted by the Dive Center. The district court granted summary judgment for defendants, relying on a release of liability signed by Patricia Shultz, which the court determined to be valid under Florida law. We affirm the judgment, concluding that the district court correctly held that the liability release is not invalidated by an admiralty statute, 46 U.S.C. app. § 183c(a) (1994). Further, we conclude that it is not invalidated by the admiralty common law.