A federal appeals court has upheld a court decision, ruling that Celebrity Cruises did not falsely imprison crew members during the COVID-19 cruise shutdown.
Two Celebrity Millennium crew members, Ryan Maunes Maglana and Francis Karl Bugayong, filed a lawsuit in 2020 claiming false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress by the cruise line.
The cruise industry shut down in 2020 following a “no sail order” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The ship’s guests were able to disembark in February 2020, in Singapore but crew had to remain on the ship.
Filipino Crew Members Lose Appeal
During this period, two plaintiffs were dismissed after allegedly stealing a bottle of scotch from a ship bar but were not allowed to leave the ship.
The two men and other Filipino nationals were not permitted to return home due to a complete shutdown of the Philippines’ borders.
In late May 2020, the cruise line organized a charter flight for Maglana, Bugayong, and 200 other Filipino crew members to fly home.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld the previous decision dismissing the false imprisonment and emotional distress allegations.
Cruise Line’s Conduct ‘Not Outrageous’ Appeals Court Says
“To be sure, the pandemic forced Maglana and Bugayong into an unenviable position: They were trapped for months on a cruise ship without guidance about when they might return home,” the court opinion said.
“Celebrity faced a rapidly evolving crisis and changing guidelines. That Celebrity did not do this difficult job perfectly or as quickly as Maglana and Bugayong would have liked does not mean that its behavior was outrageous. After the no sail order lifted, Celebrity worked within the Centers for Disease Control’s strict protocol to repatriate its crew.”
The initial lawsuit also alleged other issues, including a demand for unpaid wages, which was earlier resolved in arbitration.
