New lawsuit filed in Costa Concordia wreck

ROME, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A lawsuit filed against the parent company of the Italian cruise ship that wrecked off the country's Tuscan coast claims the captain and crew were negligent.

The Costa Concordia ship, part of the Costa Cruises fleet, slammed into a into a rock formation Jan. 13. Seventeen passengers died in the disaster and 15 remain missing and are presumed dead. The ship had been carrying 4,200 passengers and crew.

The latest lawsuit was filed in Miami, location of the headquarters of Carnival Corp., of which Costa Cruises is a brand, ANSA reported Wednesday.

Thirty-nine plaintiffs seek punitive damages for "for unique losses and injuries," their attorney, Mark Bern, said in a statement Tuesday.

The Costa Concordia captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest at his home near Naples and faces charges of abandoning ship and multiple counts of manslaughter. He has denied the allegations.