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Law360 (August 21, 2020, 9:27 PM EDT ) A California federal judge on Friday tossed three lawsuits alleging Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. knowingly exposed passengers to the novel coronavirus and that its negligence caused passengers to contract the virus and some to die, but will allow the passengers to amend their suits.
Plaintiffs David and Donna Rumrill allege that they contracted COVID-19 on the Ruby Princess as a result of the cruise line's "lackadaisical approach" to their safety, but U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer tossed those claims after finding that the complaint didn't provide enough evidence to show they actually contracted the illness on the ship.
"Plaintiffs have failed to allege the amount of time between the alleged exposure and the date they began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or received a positive test result — a key fact necessary to render the causation allegations plausible, not merely possible," Judge Fischer said.
But the judge did reject Princess Cruise Lines' argument that the Rumrills didn't show physical injury, saying he isn't prepared to hold that some COVID-19 symptoms are sufficiently "serious" or "harmful" to warrant compensation. The judge said it wasn't necessary for the plaintiffs to go into detail about their symptoms to give the cruise line fair notice of the claims against it.
Judge Fischer said the Rumrills can file an amended complaint by Sept. 17.
Plaintiff Pamela Wortman, who represents the estate of Edward Mireles, also sailed on the Ruby Princess where she said she and Mireles contracted COVID-19 as a result of the cruise line's negligence. Wortman said she suffered painful symptoms and that Mireles died as a result of the illness.
In a separate order Friday, Judge Fischer again found that Wortman hadn't shown that she and Mireles had actually contracted the virus on the Ruby Princess. He rejected Princess Cruise Lines' argument that Wortman hadn't alleged physical injury.
The judge gave Wortman until Sept. 17 to file an amended complaint.
In the third suit, Juishan Hsu and Vivian Chen, the wife and daughter of the late Chung Chen, allege that Princess Cruise Lines' negligence caused the death of their loved one after he contracted COVID-19 aboard the Ruby Princess.
Judge Fischer found that plaintiff Hsu needs to show that she has been appointed the personal representative of the estate of her late husband and granted the cruise line's motion to dismiss the claims. The judge gave them until Sept. 17 to file an amended complaint.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Princess Cruise Lines has been hit with a wave of suits claiming the company knowingly let its Grand Princess vessel set sail on a voyage the same day passengers who had COVID-19 symptoms disembarked from the ship's previous voyage.
Last month, the cruise line was hit with another class action alleging that a COVID-19 outbreak on a March cruise left at least two dead and passengers trapped in their cabins for days.
Investors have also filed suit against Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Princess Cruise Lines, accusing the company of concealing COVID-19 infections on its ships and spreading the virus at ports around the world. Carnival competitor Norwegian Cruise Line is also facing securities claims related to the COVID-19 outbreak, although investors in that heavily watched case are accusing the company of downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic to prospective customers.
Princess Cruise Lines recently escaped two suits in California federal court after a judge said the passengers can't recover damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress just because they were afraid of contracting the virus. And this month, the son of a 74-year-old man who died of COVID-19 following a trip on a Princess Cruise Lines ship dropped the suit.
The passengers and their families are represented by Michael A. Simmrin of Simmrin Law Group and Debi F. Chalik of Chalik & Chalik PA.
Princess Cruise Lines is represented by Jeffrey B. Maltzman, Edgar R. Nield, Gabrielle De Santis Nield and Rafaela P. Castells of Maltzman & Partners PA.
The cases are Pamela Wortman et al. v. Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., case number 2:20-cv-04169; David Rumrill et al. v. Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., case number 2:20-cv-03317; and Juishan Hsu et al. v. Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., case number 2:20-cv-03488, in the U.S. District court for the Central District of California.
--Additional reporting by Sarah Jarvis, Nathan Hale, Dean Seal, Rachel O'Brien and Joyce Hanson. Editing by Gemma Horowitz.
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