Princess Cruise Lines loses bid to toss claims by passengers who suffered virus symptoms

A group of passengers from the Grand Princess sufficiently alleged they were exposed to a COVID-19 outbreak on the cruise ship after exhibiting symptoms following exposure to others who were infected, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The Grand Princess, owned by Princess Cruise Lines LTD, en route to Hawaii, was forced to dock in San Francisco after the outbreak in March. The cruise line faces thousands of claims by passengers aboard the Grand, Diamond and Ruby Princess. All alleged they were exposed to the virus. Some did get infected while others sued for emotional distress.

Unlike other Grand Princess passengers whose cases were tossed out by U.S. Judge R. Gary Klausner of the Central District of California, this group alleged their symptoms began within the two to 14 days of their purported exposure while on the ship, the order states. The passengers were not required to prove they were diagnosed with the virus; whether a passenger did contract the disease is a question suited for trial, the judge noted. Passengers simply had to allege that the circumstances raised plausible inference they were infected. Kris Parker et al v. Princess Cruise Lines LTD, 2:20-CV-03788 (C.D. Cal., filed April 24, 2020)

Princess Cruise Lines LTD argued the passengers only alleged symptoms but never actually contracted the virus. The passengers cannot recover damages if they are “disease-free,” the cruise line argued, citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. v. Buckley, 521 US 424 (1997)

No one can contract symptoms of a virus without having to first contract the virus itself, the ship said. But Klausner disagreed.

“Plaintiffs’ recovery is not premised solely on their symptoms, but their symptoms that resulted from contracting COVID-19,” Klausner wrote in his order. “Accordingly, the Court’s decision does not conflict with Metro-North.”

This was the passengers’ third amended complaint. One passenger in the case, Stella Torrez, who alleged she suffered from fatigue and anxiety while on the ship, had her negligence claims against Princess tossed out, as she failed to show when she began exhibiting symptoms or when she believed she was exposed to the virus, according to the order. Nor did she allege if she encountered anyone who was infected, Klausner wrote.

Negin Kamali, spokesperson for the cruise line, said in a statement Monday: “Princess Cruises has been sensitive to the difficulties the COVID-19 outbreak has caused to our guests and crew.”

“Our response throughout this process has focused on the well-being of our guests and crew within the parameters dictated to us by the government agencies involved and the evolving medical understanding of this new illness,” Kamali continued. “We do not comment on any pending litigation.”

Klausner and other federal judges hearing Princess-related cases have ruled passengers cannot recover damages for sole fear of getting the virus.

“We’re definitely excited about this ruling; we always felt the toughest element about this case was getting it to trial,” said Gerald B. Singleton of Singleton Law Firm, who represents the passengers. “We made an effort in the most recent pleadings to get all passengers who could honestly say they were exposed to those with symptoms, and developed symptoms themselves within the generally accepted incubation period. Obviously there are going to be issues about the accuracy of testing and whether people really did have it, but the judge correctly ruled those are factual issues for the trier of fact to decide.”