Insights / News
Insights / News
An Australian federal court has found Carnival PLC liable under breaches of Australian consumer law and in the tort of negligence for injuries and losses arising out of a coronavirus outbreak on the Ruby Princess cruise liner in March 2020. Click here to view the judgment.
The cruise embarked on 8 March 2020. This was notably after the death of the first Australian from Covid-19, and a month or so after cruises run by Carnival had experienced large outbreaks of unidentified respiratory illnesses.
The Judge found Carnival knew or ought to have known of the risk of coronavirus on board, its potentially lethal consequences and that screening procedures were inadequate to screen out all infectious passengers. It ought to have cancelled the cruise- and the Judge was not satisfied that this would have been burdensome, because Carnival failed to adduce evidence on the topic.
Whilst Australian consumer law goes beyond that of the UK by providing a guarantee in contracts for services that they will be fit for any particular purpose stated, the Judge’s reasoning under common law negligence and in respect of the similar Australian consumer provision that contracts for services be carried out “using an acceptable level of care and skill” would likely be persuasive to courts trying these sorts of claims under English law. Click here to view the video of Court handing down the judgment.
This claim was a lead trial on common issues of fact and law in respect of a much larger group action. Members of Outer Temple have particular expertise advising and acting in large group action travel claims, including those concerning conflict of laws.
To find out more on our travel team, contact Paul Barton on +44 (0)207 427 4907. Alternatively, to view our travel team, click here.
News 27 Oct, 2023
