PRINCESS CRUISE LINE SEEKS DISMISSAL OF COVID-19 DEATH SUIT
November 20, 2020
On October 1, 2020, Princess Cruise Lines filed a motion to dismiss a negligence lawsuit brought by the widow and daughter of a deceased passenger. The plaintiffs allege that the deceased individual contracted COVID-19 on a Ruby Princess cruise from Australia to New Zealand, then died after returning to Los Angeles. Princess Cruise Lines asserts that the plaintiffs’ claims are preempted by a maritime law known as the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) which covers deaths from an injury that occurred three nautical miles from shore. Princess asserts that while the deceased individual died on land in the U.S., DOHSA preempts the negligence claims because the entirety of the cruise trip occurred between Australia and New Zealand and the individual must have contracted COVID-19 offshore. As support for the dismissal, Princess cited Maa v. Carnival Corp. & PLC , another claim in California federal court involving the death of an individual alleged to have caught COVID-19 on a cruise between Buenos Aires and Barbados. In that case, the court dismissed the claims on the grounds that DOHSA applied even when the individual died on land in the United States.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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