# Common sense prevails in cruise ship court case



## rushie (Jul 5, 2005)

From Cruise Ship News - 

_Ruling Favors NCL in Cruise Ship Norwegian Dawn Rogue Wave Suit 

A federal judge has ruled in favor of NCL and against a group of passengers who were aboard the Norwegian Dawn in April 2005 when the cruise ship was hit by a rogue wave while sailing back to New York from the Caribbean. 

Even though none of the guests or crew members suffered serious injuries when the unusually large wave hit the ship, breaking windows and flooding some passenger cabins, a group of angry passengers and their attorneys had sought certification for a class action suit.

But U.S. District Court Judge Ceciolia M. Altonaga on Sept. 12th denied their motion for class certification.

“We are pleased and gratified with Judge Altonaga’s decision that the lawsuit is not appropriate for class action status. From the outset, this frivolous lawsuit has existed only in the minds of the plaintiffs’ lawyers,” said NCL Corporation’s President and CEO Colin Veitch. 

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Bahamas Maritime Authority earlier had found no wrongdoing by either NCL or Norwegian Dawn’s Captain.

In a report released in November 2005, the NTSB concluded that although the rough weather made the voyage unpleasant, “the safety and integrity of the ship was in no way compromised by this incident.” 

While some passengers contended that the Norwegian Dawn, despite rough weather, was trying to make it back to New York for a television taping, the NTSB said: "Rather than attempting to maintain the scheduled arrival time in New York, the master decided to lower the ship’s speed and change its heading for the passengers’ comfort.” 

The Bahamas Maritime Authority concluded that the action of Norwegian Dawn’s Captain was “prudent and appropriate throughout,“ and that “there is no evidence that any real or perceived urgency to arrive at New York earlier was a factor in the handling of the ship or that Norwegian Cruise Line did anything but support the captain’s on-scene decisions.”_ 

Rushie


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## makko (Jul 20, 2006)

Landlubbers! And litigacious ones at that - Bad mixture!

Dave


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## Keltic Star (Jan 21, 2006)

makko said:


> Landlubbers! And litigacious ones at that - Bad mixture!
> 
> Dave


There are sea-going Folk and then there are
Those shore Bastards. 
_Thomas E. Colvin
Naval Architect_


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## Mark Taxis (Dec 6, 2004)

common sense - so it is alive and well, but not seen too often


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## rushie (Jul 5, 2005)

I bet the Judge got a free cruise out of it..!!

Rushie


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## Paul Liu (Aug 19, 2006)

Rushie:

For a judge capable of making that kind of common sense ruling, I doubt that she will accept a free cruise by any means. 

Paul


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## rushie (Jul 5, 2005)

Purely a tongue in cheek remark Paul.

Rushie


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## Paul Liu (Aug 19, 2006)

I can guess that much Rushie. Thanks for posting this news. I took the liberty to blog about this news and acknowledged you as my source here
http://freaquewaves.blogspot.com/2006/09/freaque-wave-prevails-over-ambulance.html#links

Paul


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## rushie (Jul 5, 2005)

Cheers Paul,

That's an interesting site you've got there. Keep me updated.!

Rushie


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