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The Costa Concordia lawsuit now takes the form of a mass tort filed collectively as individual actions on behalf of 39 passengers. APRelated articles
Law firms line up to offer victims support in claims against CostaRina awaits judgment over involvement in ferry deathsInformation overloadSafety culture in cruise industry to come under scrutinyQ&A: Cooper Gay marine reinsurance director Analysis: Why did the Costa Concordia capsize?Related Vessels
Costa ConcordiaData provided by Lloyd's List Intelligence Nearly 40 passengers now involved in Miami lawsuit
COSTA Cruises has extended the deadline by which Costa Concordia passengers can apply for its compensation package to March 31, 2012.
However, this has not prevented further Costa Concordia passengers joining a lawsuit filed in Miami, Florida, against Carnival Corp, Carnival Cruises and Costa Cruises by law firms Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik and Proner & Proner.
Six passengers were involved in the original lawsuit filed in January. The amended suit now takes the form of a mass tort filed collectively as individual actions on behalf of 39 passengers. The claims are being made on the grounds of maritime negligence, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent retention, fraudulent misrepresentation and fraudulent inducement.
Proner & Proner said after evaluating the legal issues surrounding a class action in this particular case, the law firms thought that filing a class action on behalf of victims of the Costa Concordia cruiseship casualty was not in their best interests at this point.
“Instead, we have filed individual actions collectively out of the belief that approaching this case as a mass tort rather than a class action will result in the greatest likelihood of our clients receiving the most significant economic recovery possible.”
Costa Cruises said it had extended the compensation deadline to give passengers “more time to evaluate the proposal and to exercise their claims with due tranquillity”. The extension will not have any impact on the claiming process but it is intended to meet the requests expressed by some of the passengers.
The compensation package was offered on January 27. Costa Cruises offered a lump sum of $14,460 per uninjured passenger for “indemnification, covering all patrimonial and non-patrimonial damages, including loss of baggage and personal effects, psychological distress and loss of enjoyment of the cruise vacation”.
It also intends to reimburse passengers for the value of the cruise, travel expenses to reach the port of embarkation and to return home, medical expenses and expenses on board during the cruise. The package is not for crew, injured passengers or bereaved families.
This compensation package is higher than the current indemnification limits provided for in international conventions and laws currently in force, according to Costa Cruises
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