Archer v. Carnival Corp. & PLC

Opinion

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL

Proceedings: (IN CHAMBERS) Order Re: Plaintiffs' Motion to Certify Class [DE 68]

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs initiated this putative class action on April 8, 2020. Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint on June 2, 2020, a Second Amended Complaint ("SAC") on August 14, 2020, and a Third Amended Complaint ("TAC") on October 2, 2020. The TAC is brought against Defendants Carnival Corporation, Carnival PLC, and Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd ("Princess Cruises") (collectively, "Defendants"). The TAC asserts four claims: (1) negligence; (2) gross negligence; (3) negligent infliction of emotional distress; and (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress. All of Plaintiffs' claims arise out of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Grand Princess—a cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises.

Presently before the Court is Plaintiffs' Motion to Certify Class and Appoint Class Representatives and Class Counsel. For the following reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs' Motions.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs' TAC alleges the following:

A. The COVID-19 [*2]  Outbreak on the Grand Princess

Plaintiffs were passengers aboard the Grand Princess when it departed from San Francisco on February 21, 2020 bound for Hawaii. Before February 21, the Grand Princess had been on a roundtrip cruise from San Francisco to Mexico. The Mexico cruise departed on February 11 and was scheduled to return to San Francisco on February 21. At that time, the plan was for the Grand Princess to off-load all but 62 passengers from the Mexico cruise and then onboard the passengers for the Hawaii cruise. The problem, however, was that some of the passengers on the Mexico cruise were infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. This led to an outbreak on the Grand Princess which resulted in numerous individuals contracting COVID-19.

Defendants knew or should have known about the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak on the ship. First, Defendants knew that cruise ships create a heightened risk of viral outbreak. According to an article co-authored by Defendants' own Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Grant Tarling, cruise ships "represent a potential source for introduction of novel or antigenetically drifted influenza strains" and cruise ship characteristics, [*3]  such as "close quarters and prolonged contact among travelers on ships...increase the risk of communicable disease transmission." (TAC ¶ 128.)

Full case includes Shepard's, Headnotes, Legal Analytics from Lex Machina, and more.