Virgin Cruises seeks dismissal of Veitch lawsuit

Virgin Cruises has asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed in March that alleges it misappropriated the basics of its cruise strategy from Colin Veitch, a former cruise line CEO turned consultant.

In a motion filed June 1, Virgin argues that any agreement between Veitch’s consulting firm and Virgin Management USA falls short of a working partnership that could form the basis of a lawsuit.

In addition, the response says communications between the two parties indicated that a preliminary agreement on how income would be allocated between the partners was subject to later revision. In filing suit, Veitch said that Virgin unilaterally revised the financial terms of the partnership once it realize the potential for profits. At that point, the partnership fell apart, the lawsuit said.

Virgin also asks that the Veitch lawsuit be dismissed because it names a number of Virgin entities as defendants but fails to say what misconduct is attributable to each defendant.

Virgin, which is associated with Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, said in December it will enter the cruise business by building two new “world-class cruise ships."

The Veitch lawsuit contends that the business outlined by Virgin was based on a plan for “ultra ships” that he presented to Virgin in 2011.

Veitch was Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO from 2000 to 2008.

South Carolina court throws out lawsuit against Carnival

By Jerry Limone

The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Carnival Cruise Lines' operations in Charleston violated the city’s nuisance ordinances.

The court ruled that such a lawsuit must be brought by property owners, not neighborhood associations.

In 2011, the Southern Law Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of four Charleston community groups against Carnival, seeking to "enforce local laws that protect the city's healthy environment and treasured historic assets."

The four community groups were the Historic Ansonborough Neighborhood Association, the Charlestowne Neighborhood Association, the Preservation Society of Charleston and the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League.

The court stated, "Lacking from these allegations is any claim that the plaintiffs themselves or their members have suffered from a particularized harm. … These allegations are simply complaints about inconveniences suffered broadly by all persons residing in or passing through the City of Charleston and therefore, plaintiffs fail to establish the first element of standing."

The South Carolina Ports Authority and the City of Charleston joined the lawsuit on Carnival's behalf in 2011.

"This was an unprecedented lawsuit brought against a global brand and customer of our port," said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority. "Given the public interest in this case, we are gratified that the State Supreme Court, in its original jurisdiction, affirms that Carnival has been operating responsibly and lawfully in Charleston at Union Pier Terminal."

The Southern Environmental Law Center said the ruling “did not address whether Carnival’s home basing operation complies with local ordinances, or whether it is a nuisance that interferes with the property rights of neighboring home owners, as the plaintiffs alleged. “

"We’re disappointed that after two years the court refused to pass on the legality of Carnival’s operation and instead dismissed the case on a legal technicality that the claims should have been brought by individual property owners rather than neighborhood associations and other groups,” said Blan Holman, the Southern Environmental Law Center attorney who represented the plaintiff groups in the lawsuit.

The Carnival Fantasy has sailed Caribbean cruises year-round from Charleston since 2010. The 2,052-passenger ship is Carnival’s oldest, having entered service in 1990.

Carnival chief: CNN report based on 'frivolous' suit

By Tom Stieghorst

In the company’s fourth-quarter conference call for analysts, Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald offered his view of a critical CNN story aired this week.

Donald said the story on the cable channel's AC360 show was based on documents from a “frivolous” lawsuit Carnival is seeking to dismiss.

“I’m disappointed they got any airtime whatsoever,” Donald said of the report, which concluded that Carnival Cruise Lines officials knew Carnival Triumph had "a propensity for fires."

The story cited internal Carnival documents produced in trial preparations for Houston attorney Frank Spagnoletti. Segments quoted by CNN suggest that the diesel generator that caught fire was past due for maintenance and out of compliance with international safety rules.

The show also said Carnival’s ticket contract doesn’t warrant that cruises are safe. Donald said that language was picked up in error from a court motion seeking to dismiss the suit and isn’t in the contract.

“We stand behind our product,” he said. “Our ships are safe, our ships are sound, and our ships are seaworthy.” 

Customers threaten Island Cruises with legal action

By Phil Davies

A group of 50 passengers are taking legal action after an outbreak of illness on the ship Island Escape.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has been instructed to investigate the concerns of 50 passengers who travelled on the Tui UK & Ireland ship between March and June this year.

The solicitors said many were confined to their cabins after suffering diarrhoea and sickness and there were also complaints about food, damp rooms and overflowing toilets, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.

Leeds pensioners Ralph and Patricia Hewitt said they were left traumatised when the ship listed violently to one side after leaving the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome.

The ship lurched suddenly to one side, throwing passengers – many of whom were in bars and restaurants – to the floor and causing injuries, they said.

Then the second week of their trip was ruined when they caught a sickness bug which had been rife onboard

The grandparents joined the Island Escape in May for a week’s Mediterranean cruise and then a week in a hotel in Majorca.

A spokeswoman for Island Cruises said: “We are sorry to hear of this experience on board the Island Escape. As this case is now subject to legal proceedings it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.

“The ultimate priority for Island Cruises is the health, safety and comfort of all our customers. We operate stringent health and hygiene procedures in line with industry standards.”

Carnival sues Alabama shipyard where Triumph was towed

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Corp. has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the shipyard in Mobile, Ala., where the Carnival Triumph was towed in February after its engine fire.

The suit says deteriorated and inadequate mooring bollards failed during a rainstorm on April 3, allowing Triumph to break free of the pier and damage other vessels and structures. Triumph itself also sustained "significant" damage, the suit says.

The suit seeks at least $12.6 million in damages from BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards Alabama Property Holdings LLC. Attorneys for BAE Systems have not yet filed a response.

Also named as a defendant in the suit is Bernadette Johnson, wife of John "Buster" Johnson, a worker who drowned when the Triumph broke free. She had sued Carnival on May 29, the suit says.

In the suit, Carnival seeks a declaration that it is not liable for injuries or damages from the incident.

Carnival said it has claims or expects claims from the Signal Ship Repair shipyard on the Mobile River and from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, whose dredging ship was hit by Carnival Triumph.

Costa Concordia disaster: Cruise firm faces US lawsuit

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The company operating a cruise ship that sank off Italy last week is facing a class-action lawsuit in the US.

Italy's consumer association Codacons and two US law firms told the BBC they would file the suit against Costa Cruises on behalf of the passengers.

Costa Cruises has blamed the ship's captain, who denies responsibility, for the incident

They want at least $160,000 (£105,000) for each passenger on the ship.

Costa Cruises, owned by US-based Carnival Group, has suspended the ship's captain. At least 11 people were killed in the accident.

The Costa Concordia ship, which had more than 4,200 passengers aboard, collided with rocks off the coast of the Tuscan island of Giglio a week ago. Hundreds were injured and 21 remain missing.

Mitchell Proner, a lawyer with Proner & Proner, said: "Along with Codacons, we have formed an association and our firms are collectively going to be filing a suit in Miami, by Wednesday next week, on behalf of all the victims of the Costa Concordia disaster."

'Rogue captain'

Mr Proner said claimants would be seeking compensation for continued medical care, loss of earnings as well as the psychological impact they had suffered while trying to get off the ship.

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Not only is Costa owned by an American company but they have brought themselves into our stream of commerce”

He said that some of the claimants - currently 110 - would seek two or three times the minimum claim, while the worse cases could seek as much as 1m euros.

Costa Cruises have blamed Capt Francesco Schettino, currently under house arrest, for committing "grave errors of judgement" including making an "unauthorised manoeuvre" in the Costa Concordia.

The firm has withdrawn its offer to pay legal fees for the captain - who denies all responsibility - and has begun the process of launching a civil claim against him in Italy.

But Mr Proner said that the firm could not pin all responsibility for the disaster on a "rogue captain".

"It's easy to say this captain acted alone," he said.

"There are indications that there have been regular route deviations in the past. There should have been safeguards on board, where were the alarms? If there was a dereliction of duty, what was going on on their computer systems?

"At the time of the Titanic it might have been easy to say that radars didn't exist. Nowadays, with all the technology, it isn't. There had to be a failure in the system that allowed this to happen."

'Protecting rights'

A spokesman for Costa Cruises said the firm's legal department would, in due course, be responding to allegations against it but was focusing now on the situation on the island of Giglio.

He said that, as an initial gesture, a full refund and discount on future cruises had been offered to all passengers.

The president of Codacons, Marco Ramadori, said the offer was insufficient.

"They are offering to refund the cost of the ticket as if you had missed a plane and lost your luggage. You cannot compare the two," he said.

Costa passengers are reported to have signed a contract when buying their cruise that any litigation will take place under Italian law, in Italy.

But Mr Proner said that he thought it likely that the US courts would accept the case.

"The US has a long tradition of protecting rights and not only is Costa owned by an American company but they have brought themselves into our stream of commerce," he said.

"There were 120 Americans on board and they will demand access to their rights."