Mermaid pod suit advances
CARNIVAL scored a major victory today in its mega-lawsuit against Mermaid pod providers Rolls-Royce and Converteam, as a judge refused to dismiss most of the cruise giant’s claims.
Carnival filed suit last December, seeking $100M in damages and alleging fraud, conspiracy and negligence. It argued that the Mermaid propulsion pods installed on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 have never functioned as promised, requiring repeated repairs, bearing replacements, unscheduled drydockings and hefty costs.
Rolls-Royce and Converteam (Alstom Power Conversion) filed motions earlier this year to have the claims dismissed. But today, the Florida District Court judge threw out most of their arguments, allowing almost all of Carnival’s claims to proceed.
Both Rolls-Royce and Converteam argued that Carnival’s claims were barred by a four-year statute of limitations, dating the alleged misrepresentations to 2002-3. But the judge sided with Carnival, which maintained that claims first arose from a November 2005 drydocking.
Defendants also sought to use procedural arguments for dismissal of fraud, misrepresentation and conspiracy claims. The judge backed Carnival and declined to dismiss almost all of the claims. The judge did dismiss Carnival’s warranty allegation against Converteam and one of five fraud claims against Rolls-Royce.