Appeals court orders new trial in Carnival passenger assault case
An 11th Circuit panel overturned an award exceeding $12 million in damages and interest, citing errors involving a false imprisonment ruling and excluded FBI findings.
A unanimous panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial on a passenger’s sexual assault and false imprisonment claims against Carnival Cruise Line, overturning an award of more than $12 million in damages and interest.
The plaintiff was traveling aboard Carnival Miracle in December 2018. She alleged that Carnival janitor Fredy Anggara pulled her into a closet and raped her after she became heavily intoxicated and struck her head on the ship’s pool deck.
The appeals court determined that the federal trial judge had improperly ruled in the plaintiff’s favor on the false imprisonment claim before trial. The panel also found that the lower court should not have excluded an FBI report that concluded the encounter was consensual.
The plaintiff challenged FBI Special Agent Sarah Andreasen’s conclusions, arguing that they were unreliable and based on an incomplete investigation. Her attorney also told the appellate court that the passenger was too intoxicated to have the capacity to consent. The government declined to prosecute Anggara.
