An appeals court has upheld an earlier court verdict, making Carnival Corp and its brand Princess Cruises liable for passenger damages due to the infamous COVID cruise incident of 2020.
Twenty-eight people died as a result of contracting COVID during the Australia-New Zealand cruise aboard Ruby Princess in March 2020. There were more than 600 positive COVID cases.
The panel of judges agreed with the original trial verdict that the cruise line failed to show proper duty of care to guests and was negligent in not canceling the cruise.
The 13-day cruise to New Zealand departed Sydney as the initial wave of the COVID-19 virus rapidly spread globally.
Princess Cruises cut short the voyage after 11 days and returned to Sydney as Australia shut down its borders.
Appeals Court Upheld Original Ruling That Princess Cruises Was Negligent
Justices Brigitte Markovic, Sarah Derrington and Darren Jackson said the cruise should have been canceled. “It was a foreseeable consequence of (lead plaintiff) Mrs Susan Karpik’s boarding that she would be exposed to the heightened risk of there being Covid-19 on board the Ruby Princess,” they wrote.
However, the judges tossed the plaintiff’s request for additional compensation for injuries and distress, arguing she did not suffer any effects of long COVID. She was awarded A$4,423 plus interest for out-of-pocket medical expenses.
A former Ruby Princess guest who is now a plaintiff in the class action lawsuit stated, “They should have never allowed us to board that ship.”
Carnival offered to settle the case for A$15 million before the trial started, but this was rejected. The plaintiffs were seeking around $69 million.
Vicky Antzoulatos, head of class actions at Shine Lawyers, welcomed the ruling, “Passengers can now proceed to have their individual claims assessed. We hope this result will lead to a meaningful resolution of their claims so that they can finally put this sorry episode of their lives behind them.”
