Claims Accusing Cruise Line of Engaging in Reinsurance Scheme Must Be Arbitrated, 11th Cir. Affirms

ATLANTA — A lawsuit accusing Norwegian Cruise Lines of engaging in a travel reinsurance scheme must be arbitrated because the plaintiffs’ claims fall within the arbitration provision in the guest contract they signed before embarking on their cruises, a federal appeals panel has affirmed.

In an Aug. 10 opinion, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reasoned that “any alleged fraudulent conduct was wrapped up in the same transaction that culminated in the Guest Contract, which was the basis of the only contractual relationship between the Passengers and Norwegian.”

Between 2016 and 2017, Martha Phillips, Jerry Phillips, Darren …