A Miami jury has found Norwegian Cruise
Line not guilty in a case stemming from the April 10, 2005, sailing
on the Norwegian Dawn, when a rogue wave hit the ship on its return
from Florida to New York.
The June 7
decision ended a two-year legal battle for NCL.
"We are pleased
with the jury's thoughtful and reasoned decision," Colin Veitch,
president and CEO of NCL Corp., said in a statement. "We have
always maintained that this lawsuit existed only in the minds of
the plaintiffs' lawyers, and this verdict confirms our
belief."
Twenty-four of
the ship's passengers filed suit in the Southern District Court of
Florida in Miami in June 2005, alleging that NCL had intentionally
steered into a storm in order to arrive in New York in time for the
ship to be featured on a TV program.
On its return to
New York, the ship encountered high seas and an alleged 70-foot
wave that caused damage to several cabins and minor injuries to
four passengers.
"[We're] alleging
the company deliberately went into a storm in order to arrive in
New York at a designated time because they had a filming scheduled
with 'The Apprentice' TV show," Brett Rivkind, the plaintiffs'
Miami-based attorney, told Travel Weekly in June 2005.
The three-week
trial ended last week after the jury deliberated for two-and-a-half
hours, NCL said. It returned a verdict in favor of NCL, in line
with the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board and
the Bahamas Maritime Authority, which had found no wrongdoing on
the part of NCL or the Norwegian Dawn's Captain, Niklas
Peterstam.
To contact reporter Johanna Jainchill, send e-mail to [email protected].