Carnival sued in Costa Concordia accident

Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise-line owner, was sued for at least $100 million over the wreck of the Costa Concordia near Italy's coast, which killed at least 17 people and left the vessel half submerged on its side.

The complaint, alleging negligence and breach of contract, was filed Friday in federal court in Chicago by Gary Lobaton, a member of the Costa Concordia crew who seeks class-action status to represent all victims of the Jan. 13 disaster off Giglio Island. The captain, Francesco Schettino, has been accused of causing the accident by steering too close to shore and then abandoning ship as it sank.

"The defendants failed to properly and timely notify all plaintiffs on board of the deadly and dangerous condition of the cruise ship as to avoid injury and death," Lobaton said in the complaint.

Meantime, divers Saturday found the body of a woman on the half-sunken ship, officials on the island of Giglio said, bringing the total number of bodies recovered to 17. Local media reported that indications were she was a crew member and that she had not been wearing a life jacket. There are still 17 people unaccounted for, according to a list published by the prefecture of Grosseto.

The Costa Concordia, owned by Carnival's Costa Crociere unit, was carrying about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew when it ran aground. The lawsuit, which also names the Miami-based Costa Crociere unit in Italy, seeks damages for alleged violation of the Athens Convention for safely carrying passengers at sea, breach of contract, negligence and unjust enrichment.

A message left with Carnival wasn't immediately returned. A Costa spokesman declined to immediately comment.

Costa said Saturday that it reached agreements with consumer groups in several countries to pay damages to passengers.