Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly

Edited by Professor Francis D Rose

Document

CLASS ACTION WAIVER CLAUSES IN CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER CONTRACTS

Rosemary Gibson *

This article examines the phenomenon of class actions in the cruise industry, and analyses whether a class action waiver clause is enforceable in a cruise ship passenger contract. The answer to this question is of obvious importance to passengers and the cruise industry, and also has broader implications for consumers and consumer law generally. The article considers the position in Australia, the UK and the US, analysing each jurisdiction’s respective class action regime, consumer protection legislation and relevant case law. The article also considers the potential impact of the Athens Convention 1974/2002 on class actions.

I. INTRODUCTION

Cruising is a multibillion-dollar industry,1 with the largest cruise passenger ships having the capacity to carry many thousands of passengers on a single voyage.2 When something goes wrong, this affects potentially thousands of individuals and exposes a carrier3 to the

* Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland.

The following abbreviations are used:

ACL: Australian Consumer Law;

ALRC Report: Australian Law Reform Commission, Grouped Proceedings in the Federal Court, Report No 46, (1988);

Athens 1974: Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea 1974;

Athens 2002: Protocol of 2002 to Athens 1974;

Cashman: P Cashman, Class Action Law and Practice (Australia, 2007);

CRA: Consumer Rights Act 2015 (UK);

FCAA 1976: Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth);

FRCP: (US) Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;

Lankford: Lankford v Carnival Corp (25 July 2014) SD Fla, Case No 12-24408-CIV-ALTONAGA/O’Sullivan;

Lindsay: Lindsay v Carnival Corp (30 June 2021) WD Wash, C20-982 TSZ;