Royal Caribbean seeks to avoid US lawsuits over White Island volcano disaster

Tuesday, 31 Dec, 2020 0

Royal Caribbean Cruises is taking legal action to stop some victims of the White Island volcano disaster from suing for damages in the US.

At least two lawsuits have been filed in the US by Australians Marie and Stephanie Browitt, and Americans Paul and Ivy Reed.

The cruise line applied to the Australian Federal Court to halt the lawsuits as it claims they can only be head in an Australian court due to a clause in their cruise ticket purchase contract.

The plaintiffs dispute this.

"The allegation that Royal Caribbean provided the Browitts with a contract that said all pursuits have to be litigated in New South Wales is simply not true," a lawyer for the Browitt family said.

"They never received such a contract."

The White Island eruption in New Zealand killed 22 people and severely injured several survivors.

Many tourists on the island at the time were Royal Caribbean guests on the Ovation of the Seas.

"Plenty of indications in the weeks, months and years leading up to December 9, 2019 that this was literally a volcano ready to erupt," the lawyer said.

"There were a number of geological and scientific organisations that were ringing alarm bells about volcanic activity on the island," he said.

New Zealand has charged at least 10 organizations over the tragedy which includes two government agencies.

Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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