Class Certification Denied To Passengers Aboard Cruise Ship Caught In Hurricane Where Several Passengers Became Injured And Many Became Seasick Because Court Determined That Questions Of Law And Fact Common To The Class Did Not Predominate Over Questions
KENT STOBAUGH, NANCY STOBAUGH, RICHARD HEIDBRINK AND DORISHEIDBRINK, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF ALL SIMILARLY SITUATED PERSONS,Appellants v. NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE LIMITED D/B/A NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE,Appellee
NO. 14-02-00351-CV
COURT OF APPEALS OF TEXAS, FOURTEENTH DISTRICT, HOUSTON
2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 3690
May 1, 2003, Rendered
May 1, 2003, Opinion Filed
PRIOR HISTORY: On Appeal from the 270th District Court. Harris County, Texas. Trial Court Cause No. 96-56183.
DISPOSITION: Affirmed.
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiffs, passengers, sought review of the decision of the 270th District Court, Harris County (Texas), which found in favor of defendant cruise line and denied the passengers class certification.
OVERVIEW: The case was an interlocutory appeal of an order denying class certification. The passengers challenged the trial court's order denying their class certification of their claims against the cruise line arising out of a cruise that the passengers took aboard the cruise line's vessel. The vessel attempted to avoid a hurricane, but was caught in extremely high seas and hurricane-force winds. Several passengers were injured and many became seasick; they then filed an action in part for breach of contract, breach of express and implied warranties, negligent misrepresentation, and negligence and gross negligence. The court affirmed the order, stating that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in its implied determination that the questions of law or fact common to the members of the proposed class did not predominate over questions affecting only individual members. The passengers failed to satisfy the predominance requirement, one of the most stringent requirements for class certification.
OUTCOME: The judgment was affirmed.
