A group of Texas cruise passengers are suing over damages sustained when a departure date was postponed.
William John Patton, Sydney Langley and Pam and Claude Cage, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a lawsuit March 28 in the Galveston County District Court against Cleopatra Shipping Agency Ltd. and Kirby Inland Marine LP, citing gross negligence and willful misconduct.
On March 22, a collision occurred between a barge being pushed by the M/V Miss Susan, owned by Kirby Marine, and the 585-foot bulk carrier, M/V Summer Wind, owned by Cleopatra Shipping Co.
As a result of the collision, the barge’s hull and tank were breached resulting in a large spill of marine fuel oil into Galveston Bay. The Houston Ship Channel was shut down for several days for clean up, and close to 100 vessels could not depart or come to shore during that time.
Passengers of the Caribbean Princess are suing for damages the delay in departure caused.
The plaintiffs are seeking punitive damages within the jurisdictional limits of the court.
As the Record previously reported, a group of commercial fisherman filed the first class action over the spill on March 24.
They are being represented in the case by attorneys Dicky Grigg and Rick Leeper of Spivey & Grigg LLP, Frank C. Dudenhefer Jr. and Calvin C. Fayard Jr.
Galveston County District Court Case No. 14-CV-00113
This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Galveston County District Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.