For Carnival, ‘Death on the High Seas’ Protects Bottom Line (3)

Carnival Corp. is poised to dramatically curb monetary damages for passengers killed by the coronavirus under the latest court decision to side with the company.

If a ruling Monday by a Los Angeles federal judge is followed by others, it could offer the cruise line something of a safe harbor under the Death on the High Seas Act. The century-old federal law limits payouts for survivors to “pecuniary” damages such as how much the deceased contributed through wages or housework. One maritime lawyer said that in the case of retirees, who make up a large portion of Carnival’s customers, ...