Legal twist in class action over cyclone cruise from hell

Lawyers who ran a class action over a cruise from Brisbane into the path of a category 5 cyclone have revealed the payday they’re chasing from the proposed $2.4m settlement.

The class action claims pools and spas were closed during the cruise.

Lawyers who ran a class action over a “frightening” cruise that sailed from Brisbane into the path of a category 5 cyclone in 2017 are hoping to pocket up to $1m – or nearly half of the total figure to be agreed at settlement – for their work, they have told a court.

Carter Capner Law have stated in court documents that the firm plans to seek the approval of the Federal Court for legal costs and expenses capped at $1m plus GST – or 42 per cent of the total settlement sum – when the case goes to court on February 6.

On that date the firm plans to seek the green light from the judge for a proposed $2,416,000 settlement for their class action known as the P&O Pacific Aria class action.

The firm states that under the proposed settlement each person who signs up for the class action will receive an estimated $1754, which represents the $944 median price paid by passengers, plus the same again as damages.

The final amount of the settlement will be determined by the administrator, Carter Capner states in court documents.
In order to receive a slice of the payout, passengers on the cruise need to register with Carter Capner.

Wild seas filmed from the deck of the Pacific Aria during the cruise.

Lead plaintiff and passenger Debrah Jackson, will also receive a further $2000 for acting as the applicant in the case.

The likely date for payment to group members is May 2025, Carter Capner says.

Recent class action settlements against major companies have resulted in disappointingly small payouts to members.

They include the action against ANZ, OnePath Custodians, Zurich Australia, AMP Financial Planning, medical device giant Johnson and Johnson and NT Stolen Generations victims.

On October 1 the parties to the case received an in-principle agreement to settle the case, but it must be approved by the court.

A P&O Cruises Australia spokesman told The Courier-Mail in a statement that “any settlement is subject to judicial approval and as the matter is still before the courts, it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time”.

Sea conditions off the side of the P&O Pacific Aria during the voyage, a far cry from what the passengers were expecting.

The P&O Pacific Aria left Brisbane on May 5, 2017 and she alleged that the severity of the seas caused activities to be closed on the ship and it was unpleasant and difficult to move round.

There were 1454 passengers on the cruise.

The cruise’s itinerary included stops at Noumea, Lifou Island and Port Vila before returning to Brisbane on May 12, 2017.

When the ship arrived in Noumea most businesses were closed and the visits to Lifou Island and Port Villa were cancelled.

On the return to Brisbane the ship took on water and flowed down corridors and into some cabins, and tables fell over and the ship listed to one side for about an hour, the claim states.

Ms Jackson alleged in court that she booked and paid for a seven-day cruise operated by Carnival PLC which departed from Brisbane on 5 May 2017 on a ship called Pacific Aria.

“Passengers including the applicant found the experience caused by the listing of the ship to be very frightening and she was fearful for her own safety,” the statement of claim states.

The weather on the return trip cause the pools and spas to be closed, live performances were cancelled and lifts were unable to operate.

Pacific Aria cruise ship escape November 1 2020 doc holiday

In their defence, the cruise line denied live performances were cancelled arguing that only one performance was substituted on May 10, when “A Night At The Musicals” was substituted for “The Velvet Rope Show”.

The cruise line states in its defence that lifts were only out of action for 12 hours.

Carnival states in its defence that instead of visiting Lifou and Port Vila, they organised an extra full day shore program in Noumea on May 8, and that the bad weather on May 10 during its return to Brisbane was a “local weather system” and was “different to Cyclone Donna”.

Ms Jackson alleged that five days before the cruise departed a severe cyclone began to form about 1500km west-northwest all Fiji.

Three days later it had intensified into a category 1 cyclone and was given the name

Cyclone Donna.

By May 6, it was a category 4 cyclone which meant that it had wind gusts of between 225 to 279 kilometres per hour.

Class action lawyer Peter Carter told The Courier-Mail that the $1m legal costs include $800,000 in solicitors’, barristers’ and experts’ fees as well as fees for website developers and other expenses, with a further $200,000 set aside for advertising to alert passengers of their entitlement and the administration of settlement.

“All legal costs are subject to the approval of the court who has appointed a costs referee to provide it a report on their reasonableness,” Mr Carter said in a statement.

“If costs come in at higher than $1m, the solicitors and barristers forego the difference. If costs come in under that, the group members get the benefit,” he told The Courier-Mail.