A new class action lawsuit has been filed against Carnival Cruise Lines by one of their customer, Daniel Finerman. Mr. Finerman is seeking compensation for the stress and embarrassment he claims to have undergone after being denied boarding on a flight to Mexico due to a passport issue. He is also seeking damages for the mental and physical trauma caused to him while travelling and the resulting damage to his wallet. Mr. Finerman has hired the services of an attorney to represent him in the carnival class action lawsuit. Below are some of the details of this case:
Carnival Class Action Lawsuit
On December 13, 2009, Mr. Daniel Finerman filed a complaint in the state court of California, claiming that he and his wife had paid over $911 in port and government taxes for a supposed cruise trip they booked using their own Marriott Vacation Club points. The following day, the Finersons were given a notice from the cruise lines informing them that their booking had been denied. Mr. Finerman states that he had a meeting with the representative of the cruise line in the hopes that they would allow him to return the money and for them to correct the error, but no such luck.
One of the main issues that has come up in this case is whether or not the cruise lines have in any way violated any federal or state laws regarding advertising and deceptive advertising.
The plaintiffs have filed a complaint in Federal Court that their rights have been violated and are seeking monetary damages as well as a permanent injunction against Carnival cruise’s use of their names on their own products and websites. Another class action lawsuit has been filed against Carnival by a man who claims that he was falsely charged with intoxication when he tried to board a ship in Florida. In this case, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Robert K. Zauzmer, is filing a claim for medical expenses, pain and suffering, punitive damages, and in some cases loss of income. This case is currently pending.
The cruises company has strongly denied any wrongdoing and asserts that the complaints are false and without merit.
“Carnival is absolutely not involved in any wrongdoing here,” said Joseph C. Cassell, a member of the cruise company’s board of directors. Mr. Cassell went on to add, “There has never been, nor will there be, any false or misleading advertising claims made by Carnival.” The company has also pointed out that none of the complaints have so far been proven unfounded. The cruises company is currently facing another class action lawsuit that was filed in June of 2009 by someone who says that the company’s robocalls were responsible for his having insomnia for the better part of a year.
On December 14th, the plaintiff’s lawyers filed a complaint in a Florida court against Carnival Cruise Lines, stating that the company has met the lead plaintiff deadline.
The plaintiff’s lawyers are seeking a trial date of February 7th. According to the complaint, Carnival used an automated toll collection system to direct calls to the cruise ships and placed those calls in various parts of the United States, including Florida. The plaintiffs say they were never given the opportunity to opt out of the calls. They are seeking monetary damages and are seeking class-action status.
The complaint points out that Carnival did not have an RMOA until two months after it had admitted in court that it placed RMOA- enabled telemarketers on its cruise ships.
Also, according to the complaint, Carnival had in effect allowed telemarketers to call at will except when there was a live customer service representative available to take calls regarding the complaints that consumers had filed with the cruise ship company. The complaint also states that RMOAs are preemptive measures, which means that if a corporation does not already have an RMOA, then it cannot begin advertising or selling products to retail customers under its name unless it does have one.
