Crew member from shipwrecked Italian cruise files suit in Chicago

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Updated: January 27, 2012 9:54PM

A South American man working on the cruise ship that crashed earlier this month off the coast of Italy is seeking class action status for a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Chicago against the operators of the ship.

Gary Lobaton claims operators of cruise ship Costa Concordia failed to timely notify passengers and crew of the “obvious” damage to the ship after it crashed Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court.

Lobaton, of Lima, Peru, was a crew member on board the Costa Concordia, according to the suit, which is seeking class action status for the more than 4,200 passengers and crew aboard the ship.

Sixteen people aboard the ship were killed and 16 others are still missing.

The suit claims Lobaton did not learn of the dangerous conditions of the ship until it was too late to abandon ship in a safe manner.

Costa Concordia departed for a seven-day cruise from Civitavecchia, Italy, on Jan. 13 with about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members, according to the suit. The ship struck a rock off the coast of Isola del Giglio about 10 p.m. Jan. 13, creating a gash in the hull that let water pour into the engine rooms and caused the ship to capsize, the suit said.

The suit claims the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, delayed the order to abandon ship and deploy the lifeboats.

In interviews after the shipwreck, Schettino said management encouraged him to sail close to shore to present a spectacle to passengers, according to the suit.

The five-count suit against Panama-based Carnival Corporation, United Kingdom-based Carniva PLC. Italian-based Crociere S.p.A. and unidentified employees claims, among other things, breach of contract, negligence, unjust enrichment and punitive conduct.

The suit is asking a judge to certify the class and award unspecified damages.

Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival, could not be reached for comment Friday night.