Appeals court orders new trial in Carnival assault case
The ruling revisits claims that previously resulted in a $10.3 million jury award to a woman identified as Jane Doe.
The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial on Jane Doe’s false-imprisonment and sexual-assault claims against Carnival Cruise Line. The court reversed the district court’s partial summary judgment on the false-imprisonment claim and vacated portions of the judgment involving both claims.
A Florida jury had awarded Doe $10.3 million after she alleged that a Carnival Miracle cleaning-crew member assaulted her in 2018. Doe told authorities that she did not fully remember the encounter in a storage closet or whether the crew member prevented her from leaving. She later told friends and a ship security officer that she believed she had been assaulted.
The appellate judges agreed with Carnival that the lower federal court in southern Florida had erred by excluding an FBI report that characterized the encounter as consensual. The crew member also told FBI agents that the encounter was consensual.
Court records have not indicated when the new trial will begin.
