Cruise lawsuit against disappearing honeymooner is dismissed
A lawsuit filed by the family of a man who disappeared from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 2005 was dismissed by a Miami judge.
George A. Smith IV disappeared from the Brilliance of the Seas sometime in the early morning hours while the ship was sailing in the Mediterranean Sea on a 12-day cruise en-route to Turkey.
Mr Smith was on his honeymoon. The case attracted world-wide media attention after his wife began appearing on television shows calling for an investigation into the matter.
Smith’s body was never found though blood stains were discovered on the canopy of a balcony beneath his cabin.
Both US and Turkish investigators have been unable to determine exactly what happened to Smith.
In the lawsuit, Mr Smith’s family claimed that Royal Caribbean tried to cover up the incident to avoid liability and negative publicity.
A previous lawsuit by his wife was dropped after she and the cruise line agreed on a settlement of more than $1 million.
In dismissing the lawsuit, Judge Jon Gordon did so “with prejudice” which means that it cannot be re-filed. A spokesperson for the Smith family said that they would appeal the judge’s decision.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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