Negligence ruling upheld for Ruby Princess COVID cruise

The operator of a cruise ship that embarked just as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the globe will remain liable to pay passengers impacted by the virus after a failed appeal.

Carnival's Ruby Princess set off from Sydney on a 13-day tour of New Zealand in March 2020 with 2671 passengers and 1146 crew on board.

The voyage was cut short after 11 days just as Australia shut its borders when COVID-19 ran rampant globally.

Twenty-eight people on the vessel died during the outbreak and 663 positive cases were reported amongst passengers.

A class action lawsuit headed by Shine Lawyers and lead applicant Susan Karpik found that Carnival was misleading and negligent in October 2023.

The company knew or ought to have known about the heightened risk of COVID-19 infection on the vessel and owed a duty of care to Ms Karpik to take reasonable care of her health and safety as a passenger, Federal Court Justice Angus Stewart said.

A panel of three judges unanimously dismissed an appeal on Tuesday after Carnival challenged those findings.

The Ruby Princess cruise should have been cancelled, Justices Brigitte Markovic, Sarah Derrington and Darren Jackson wrote.

"It was a foreseeable consequence of Mrs Karpik's boarding (the ship) that she would be exposed to the heightened risk of there being COVID-19 on board the Ruby Princess," they said.

The court also tossed a separate appeal seeking to increase the damages awarded to her by Justice Stewart.

While she was allowed $4423 plus interest for out-of-pocket medical expenses, the judge declined to award non-economic damages as she had not been diagnosed with long COVID.

She had originally sought more than $360,000 in damages for injuries, distress and disappointment.

Carnival offered to settle the case for $15 million before a trial began in October 2022.

But the offer was rejected by the passengers, who asked for $69 million.

Carnival has been contacted for comment on the appeal's dismissal.

Shine Lawyers joint head of class actions Vicky Antzoulatos said the firm was pleased with the appeal court's decision.

"Passengers can now proceed to have their individual claims assessed," she said in a statement.

"We hope this result will lead to a meaningful resolution of their claims so that they can finally put this sorry episode of their lives behind them."

Justice Stewart will determine the next steps in the case at a later date.