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Plaintiffs in a Princess Cruise Lines class action lawsuit recently lost their bid for Class certification due to a class action waiver in the passengers’ agreements.
U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner determined the Princess Cruise class action waiver was enforceable because it was well communicated by the company. As such, the court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for certification of a Class of passengers who were exposed to the coronavirus during a trip from San Francisco to Hawaii.
Plaintiffs had previously argued the fine-print waivers used by Princess Cruise Lines were insufficient and aimed at limiting the legal rights of “passengers who trusted them to ensure their safety.” Because of this, the plaintiffs encouraged the court to reject these waivers as unconscionable and unenforceable.
“When corporations prospectively seek to limit the fundamental right to go to court and seek redress for harms, wrongdoers get a free pass to endanger all of us,” plaintiffs’ counsel urged in their motion.
“The constitution guarantees the right to a civil jury trial, and class actions are often the best or the only way for large groups, such as the Princess passengers, to get to a just, speedy, and inexpensive trial.”
Despite these arguments, Judge Klausner found the waivers were enforceable because passengers could find the waiver within the passage contract in several different ways.
When they book their tickets with Princess Cruise Lines, the booking confirmation reportedly contains a link to the contract. Similarly, the contract could be found by opening up the cruiser personalizer or even by visiting the Princess Cruise Lines website.
“The court finds that the class-action waiver in the passage contract is sufficiently conspicuous to satisfy the first prong of the reasonable communicativeness test,” Judge Klausner wrote.
The Princess Cruise Lines coronavirus class action lawsuit was filed by consumers in April. According to the passenger plaintiffs, the cruise lines failed to protect passengers from the coronavirus outbreak in a variety of ways.
First, the cruise lines failed to inform ticketholders that at least two passengers who disembarked from the ship were suffering from COVID-19 symptoms. Additionally, the cruise lines allegedly failed to implement medical screenings or protective measures such as sanitizing surfaces before new passengers boarded the ship.
Due to these failings, consumers were reportedly confined to their cabins only after 11 passengers and 10 crew members started to show symptoms.
Plaintiffs filed their motion for Class certification Aug. 31, urging the court to certify a proposed Class of over 2,400 passengers who were exposed to the coronavirus while on a cruise ship between San Francisco and Hawaii. However, Princess and Carnival filed a joint motion of opposition Sept. 4, arguing that the 62 plaintiffs in the case have widely varying injuries which aren’t common amongst the proposed Class.
This is not the first Princess Cruise Lines coronavirus class action lawsuit to be filed.
Like the plaintiffs in this case, other passengers have filed lawsuits against the cruise line for allegedly failing to warn about the risks of COVID-19 and failing to take action to control coronavirus exposure on their ships. Due to this negligence, countless people have reportedly contracted the potentially deadly virus.
Princess Cruise Lines also faces a wrongful death lawsuit from a widowed woman who says her husband died as a result of the cruise line’s negligence. The plaintiff and her deceased husband were reportedly taking a cruise in February to celebrate 34 years of marriage.
Unfortunately, while on the cruise trip, the husband contracted COVID-19 and started to develop symptoms such as a cough and fever. After his condition worsened, he was transferred to a hospital for treatment where he eventually died due to COVID-19 complications.
The widow says she and her husband were “completely, unknowingly, and inescapably exposed to the deathly virus” as a result of Princess Cruise Lines’ negligence.
Did you take a cruise during the beginning days of the coronavirus outbreak? Share your experiences in the comment section below.
The Princess Cruise passengers are represented by Elizabeth J. Cabraser, Jonathan D. Selbin and Mark P. Chalos of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP; Mary E. Alexander and Brendan D.S. Way of Mary Alexander & Associates PC; Gretchen M. Nelson and Carlos F. Llinás Negret of Nelson & Fraenkel LLP; and Joseph G. Sauder of Sauder Schelkopf LLC.
The Princess Cruise Lines Coronavirus Class Action Lawsuit is Archer, et al. v. Carnival Corp., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-04203, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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4 thoughts onJudge Denies Certification for Princess Cruise Passengers In COVID-19 Class Action Lawsuit
So grown ass people decide to get on a ship knowing covid is here and knowing what risks they are putting themselves in (they definitely know everything the cruise lines about it at this point ) and now because they got sick want to sue? So I assume if they caught some other disease in one of the ports like hiv, h1n1, hepatitis ect , that would somehow be the cruise lines fault? The problem with the world is no one wants to take responsibility for thier own actions and choices. Morons like this is why cruising is still shut down when everything else is open.
I was on the Grand Princess the cruise before the San Francisco to Hawaii cruise, a 10 day Mexico cruise and there were no extra measures being taken or mention of Corona Virus even though 2 people had it on the cruise.
So why did you get on a ship in the middle of a pandemic anyway, so you didn’t have the common sense to know the risks?
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