Cruise news · June 17, 2025
Eleventh Circuit: Carnival not liable for an assault by other passengers on the Carnival Horizon
In a published opinion, the appeals court held that Carnival owed no relevant duty and did not cause the minor passenger's injuries on those facts.
On June 17, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit decided J.F. v. Carnival Corp., No. 24-10259, a published opinion. A minor passenger alleged that three other passengers sexually assaulted her in a stateroom aboard the Carnival Horizon.
The court affirmed summary judgment for Carnival. It held that, in the particular circumstances, Carnival owed no relevant duty and did not proximately cause the injuries.
A cruise line is not automatically responsible for a crime by another passenger. The question is whether the line could foresee it and what it did, and the answer depends on the facts.
Sources
A public report, not a case of this office. Published by Shabsi Kabacznik, Florida Bar No. 1038917, on October 23, 2026.
Cruise injuries · Ticket deadlines by cruise line · More cruise news