The case is the third such lawsuit filed this year against the cruise line by parents who allege their children were too sick to be vaccinated on their cruise. In December, a California family sued the Norwegian Star cruise ship for not vaccinating their children before leaving Florida. Earlier this month, a family of four from Minnesota sued Norwegian for refusing to vaccinate their kids before their cruise in March.
A Florida judge sided with Norwegian Cruise Line in a lawsuit that claims that it supplied a high number of its crew members with the mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine for an unfounded reason.
A US District Court judge ruled on Wednesday that Norwegian Cruise Line cannot be held liable for failing to notify patients of the risks associated with a flu shot. In a ruling, Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida rejected a lawsuit filed by Florida residents Michael and Sherri Berlinger who claimed that the cruise line had violated the federal Vaccine Injury Act.. Read more about florida cruise restrictions and let us know what you think.
For the time being, a federal court has agreed with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. in its attempt to overturn a Florida law prohibiting companies from demanding evidence of Covid-19 immunization from consumers.
On Sunday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami approved the cruise line’s request for a preliminary injunction, preventing the state of Florida from enforcing its prohibition on its ships leaving the state. In July, the firm filed a lawsuit in the United States against Florida’s surgeon general, Scott Rivkees. The Southern District of Florida is a federal district court.
“While litigation is a strategic tool of last option, our business has battled to do what we think is right and in the best interests of our passengers, crew, and the communities we visit,” said Norwegian’s general counsel, Daniel Farkas.
Requests for comment were not returned by the Florida Department of Health or the Florida governor’s office.
The announcement comes as Norwegian prepares to launch cruises from Florida to the Caribbean on August 15. According to the Cruise Lines International Association, Florida is a cruise hub that accounted for approximately 60% of cruise embarkations in the United States in 2019.
After a more than a year pause and billions of dollars in losses, the business is adhering to its policy of requiring complete immunizations for all staff and guests, including children, for first sailings through Oct. 31. Norwegian Voyage Lines began its Seattle to Alaska cruise on Saturday.
In its complaint, Norwegian claimed that limiting the flow of information, in this instance vaccination documentation, violates the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of expression. It also claimed that Florida’s prohibition obstructs interstate and international trade, in violation of a provision of the United States Constitution that gives Congress exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce.
Norwegian is likely to prevail on the merits in demonstrating that the prohibition imposes a barrier on interstate trade, according to Judge Williams, since many of the ports to which it intends to cruise have vaccine requirements. She also said that the company’s First Amendment argument is likely to be successful.
Norwegian has “demonstrated that suspending its vaccine mandate would endanger public health,” according to Judge Williams. Dr. Rivkees, she said, failed to offer proof that the restriction is beneficial in safeguarding Florida citizens’ medical privacy or avoiding prejudice against unvaccinated individuals.
The state of Florida’s prohibition, which was signed into law in May, is in effect, and cruise companies have been trying to comply with CDC standards. According to the CDC, one method for cruise operators to obtain approval from the government is to commit to a 95 percent immunization rate for staff and guests.
The Florida attorney general has requested the Supreme Court to issue an emergency order suspending the CDC’s Covid-19 cruise ship rules, claiming that the cost to the tourist sector exceeds the benefits to public health. In April, the state filed a lawsuit to overturn the rules, claiming they went beyond the CDC’s regulatory jurisdiction and were too onerous for the cruise industry.
Travel and leisure have been disrupted as a result of the Delta variant’s dissemination and an increase in Covid-19 infections. Last summer, the worldwide cruise industry, which had been disrupted by Covid outbreaks aboard ships in the early phases of the epidemic the previous year, resumed international sailings. This summer, many instances of Covid-19 have been recorded on US cruises, even on ships when the majority of passengers were properly vaccinated.
The possible spread of the Delta form, according to Norwegian’s lawsuit, is another factor in the company’s decision to demand complete Covid-19 vaccines.
In July, Norwegian’s net new booking activity decreased somewhat, according to Chief Executive Frank Del Rio, who spoke on a conference call Friday. According to him, the cruise line sees the variation as a one-time occurrence with no long-term implications.
Dave Sebastian can be reached at [email protected].
Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The vaccination of Norwegian Cruise Line’s passengers against measles started this week in Florida. According to the court documents, passengers will be vaccinated on board and will not be able to show any proof of the vaccination after the cruise. The cruise line will deduct the amount of the vaccination charge from their accounts and will take necessary measures to ensure the safety of the passengers.. Read more about cruising florida and let us know what you think.
Related Tags
This article broadly covered the following related topics:
- norwegian cruise line news
- norwegian cruise line stock
- cruise line news
- us cruises
- best cruise line stock to buy
