Royal Caribbean to Defend HIV-Positive Singer’s Suit in Florida

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will defend in Florida federal court a lawsuit alleging that it discriminated against an HIV-positive singer, after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided it lacked personal jurisdiction under the state’s long-arm statute.

None of the four provisions permitting courts to exercise personal jurisdiction under New York law applied, Judge Gregory H. Woods said.

Woods could have dismissed the lawsuit but transferred the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida instead, concluding it was “in the interests of justice” to save plaintiff Kenneth Lear the technical ...