Matt Crusan, et. al. v. Carnival Corp., Case No. 1:13-cv-20592-KMW, U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida

Feb 18, 2013

OUTCOME: CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT

A dream vacation turned nightmare sparked a class action lawsuit against the Carnival Cruise Line. Over 100 passengers of a cruise that was marooned for days in the Gulf of Mexico without functionin ... g power or plumbing have joined the lawsuit, alleging that the ship wasn’t seaworthy to begin with, and that it forced guests to spend extra days stranded at sea by not heading to the closest port once it was disabled. The ship, named Triumph, left Galveston, Texas on Feb. 7, but was disabled by a fire on the 10th. The boat was then towed to Mobile, Ala., but did not arrive until the 15th, forcing the 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew to live in horrific conditions in the meantime. The lawsuit alleged that: “Plaintiffs and all other similarly situated passengers were forced to sleep on deck and/or in other communal areas on the vessel, relieve themselves into buckets, bags, showers, sinks, were given spoiled or rotting food that was unfit for reasonably safe human consumption, and were generally forced to live in squalid conditions that created a severe risk of injury, illness and/or disease,” the lawsuit reads. “Due to the lack of working plumbing and sanitation systems on the vessel, sewage and/or putrid water filled with urine and feces leaked onto floors, walls, and ceilings.” The disaster cruise captured headlines for a week and even sparked conversation in the Senate about mandating more safeguards for vacation cruise lines.