Australian court finds Carnival misled about cruise’s COVID risks

Carnival Corp’s Australian unit has been ordered to pay the medical expenses of a woman who contracted COVID-19, with a judge ruling that the cruise ship operator misled passengers about safety risks in a landmark class action ruling.
The decision from Australia’s Federal Court is the first class action win against a cruise ship operator in the world, according to Shine Laywers, who represent about 1,000 plaintiffs in the suit.
Justice Angus Stewart found Carnival Australia misled passengers about the measures it had in place to keep passengers from contracting the virus and that it should have cancelled the March 2020 return voyage from Sydney to New Zealand.
Lead plaintiff Susan Karpik was awarded A$4,423.48 ($2,826) for out-of-pocket medical expenses but no damages.
A spokesperson for Shine Lawyers, the courts must now decide on the common claims of the remaining parties to the class action.