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Ruby Princess ‘never should have sailed’: Class action proceedings begin
The class action trial against Carnival and Princess Cruise Lines has kicked off in the Federal Court, predicted to last at least four weeks.
Lauren Croft
The class action was first launched by Shine Lawyers in July 2020, following a massive COVID-19 outbreak on board the Ruby Princess, resulting in the deaths of 28 passengers and an extensive spread of the virus.
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Shine Lawyers alleged that the defendants broke Australian consumer laws by breaching consumer guarantees when they engaged in conduct that was misleading and deceptive. The firm also alleges that the operators of the cruise ship were negligent and failed a duty of care to provide passengers with a safe environment.
Of the 1679 Australians onboard the ship, 663 are believed to have contracted COVID-19. The ship eventually turned around and docked back in Sydney on 19 March as passengers left the ship — some still ill — to catch buses, trains and even flights to get home.
In his opening submissions for the lead plaintiff Susan Karpik, Ian Pike SC said that those who fell sick on board, as well as their families, suffered “loss and damage” as a result of mismanagement by the operator — and said the ship “never should have sailed”.
Mr Pike submitted that the company was well aware there could be a COVID outbreak on board — by the departure date, there had been over 100,000 COVID cases globally in over 90 countries. Two other ships in the Princess Cruises fleet had also had outbreaks, including seven deaths and 700 cases onboard the Diamond Princess, which sailed out of Japan.
He said that Carnival should have taken “reasonable precautions” to stop the spread of COVID-19 and should have exercised a better duty of care for their passengers.
“What occurred was not an accident; it was something very likely to have occurred,” he said.
Ms Karpik boarded the Ruby Princess with her husband Henry, and subsequently contracted COVID. However, Mr Karpik suffered extensively as a result, spending four weeks in a medically induced coma and now requiring constant care.
Speaking outside the Federal Court on Wednesday morning (12 October) ahead of the trial, Shine Lawyers class actions practice leader and lead solicitor on the case Vicky Antzoulatos said she looked forward to the weeks ahead.
“The Ruby Princess sailed two and a half years ago on its fateful journey in the early days of the pandemic. We’re here today to seek justice for the thousands of passengers who were on board the ship,” she said.
“To seek justice for the people who lost their lives to the outbreak. And the families whose lives were torn apart as a result. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our clients who have put their trust in us to run this case. We look forward to fighting on their behalf in the weeks ahead.”
In the last two years, an inquiry was held and a report was released on the Ruby Princess COVID-19 disaster. In August 2020, then-NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said the tragedy “should and never will happen again” in the state.
The 2,700 passengers who travelled on the Ruby Princess at the time of the outbreak are eligible to join the class action, as are the relatives who suffered psychiatric injuries.
The trial is scheduled to last the next four weeks but could potentially last until early 2023.
