Cruise news · July 6, 2026

Glass in food on the Carnival Venezia: appeals court says notice must be proved

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Carnival because there was no evidence the crew knew or should have known of the hazard.

On July 6, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Carnival in Cunningham v. Carnival Cruise Line, No. 25-13025, an unpublished opinion. The passenger said he swallowed glass in food served at a restaurant on the Carnival Venezia in June 2023 and suffered internal injuries.

The court held that the claim failed without evidence that Carnival had actual or constructive notice of the hazard, and that res ipsa loquitur, the idea that an accident speaks for itself, did not replace that proof. The passenger had not taken the crew members' depositions before discovery closed.

Notice is the center of most cruise injury cases. Evidence of what the crew knew has to be gathered early, while the court's deadlines are still open.

Sources

A public report, not a case of this office. Published by Shabsi Kabacznik, Florida Bar No. 1038917, on October 23, 2026.

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