A group of passengers who were onboard the COVID-plagued Ruby Princess cruise ship have taken their legal battle against cruise company Carnival to Australia’s highest court.
The Ruby Princess, which docked in Sydney on March 19, 2020, was the first major outbreaks of COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic.
Former nurse Susan Karpic is leading a class action case against Carnival, contending that the company has failed to take reasonable care of those who travelled on the Ruby Princess.
Ms. Karpic is seeking damages against Carnival, which trades under the Princess Cruises name and is the operator of the Ruby Princess, Bermuda-registered Princess Cruise Lines.
However, of the 2,651 passengers onboard, 696 passengers were excluded from a class action because they were parties to United States terms, which included a waiver on class actions.
Meanwhile, 1,796 booked under Australian conditions and 159 others were contracted on United Kingdom terms and conditions.
But Ms. Karpic, a resident of British Columbia in Canada, was bound by U.S. terms by conditions and was hoping to get back in.
In 2022, a passenger who contracted on U.S. terms and conditions appealed to the High Court of Australia to be included in the class action. In March 2023, the High Court granted him special leave to appeal.
Those participating in the class action alleged that the outbreak of Coronavirus on the Ruby Princess “resulted from a failure to take appropriate measures to ensure that passengers were safe and protected from contracting the virus on the ship.”
‘They Did Nothing’
Ms. Karpic’s lawyer Justin Gleeson told the High Court a section of Australian Consumer Law made a term of a consumer contract void if it was unfair.
He argued that in carrying out business in Australia, Carnival submitted to Australian laws, and the term of the U.S. contract waiving the right to engage in class action was unfair.
“There were 2,600 people on the same vessel, experiencing the same cruise,” Mr. Gleeson said.
“It is perfectly acceptable to Princess to accept a class action claim from 1700 (Australian) passengers.
“What did Princess do to prove a legitimate interest to accept they could exclude 700 other people from that action? They did nothing.”
Mr. Gleeson went on to explain the waiver clause was unfair because it limited the rights of passengers to sue the carrier but placed no such limit on litigation options for the carrier.
“A barrier has been erected to prevent passengers engaging in litigation when there is no equivalent barrier for the carrier,” he said.
“Before the service has been provided or a dispute has happened ... before the passenger has any option to consider pursuing a class action, their decision has been made for them.
“The contract is being forced by one party onto another.”
The Ruby Princess cruise ship departed Circular Quay on 8 March 2020 and came back after an 11-day round trip to New Zealand. Ruby Princess passengers were permitted to disembark at Sydney’s Circular Quay and return to their homes.
Since leaving the ship, over 700 passengers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while 28 had died from the virus
Passengers on the Ruby Princess consisted of Australian residents, as well as US citizens and citizens of a number of other countries.
