In Weissberger v. Princess Cruise Lines, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner of the Central District of California recently dismissed a claim brought by a class of Princess Cruise Line passengers based on their exposure to COVID-19 while aboard the now-infamous cruise ship that departed San Francisco for Hawaii on Feb. 21. While the court applied federal maritime law, this significant decision may shed light on how future courts treat claims for emotional distress premised on exposure to a risk of contracting COVID-19.  

Background

As the Grand Princess docked at the Port of Oakland in March, plaintiffs, Ronald and Eva Weissberger, while still aboard, filed suit against the cruise line alleging a claim for negligence.  Although the Weissbergers did not test positive for COVID-19 (or suffer symptoms of the disease), they sought to recover damages for the emotional distress they allegedly suffered based on their fear of contracting coronavirus while quarantined on the ship.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]