“[W]e have some of the most charitable and accomplished leaders here in our community, who fortunately own these cruise companies, such as the Arisons and Fains, and I’m not sure if they know about these horrible events.” said Adam Moskowitz, a partner at the Moskowitz Law Firm, who is among the attorneys representing the women and children.
The Moskowitz Law Firm, which represents women and children videotaped by a voyeur while on a Royal Caribbean cruise, filed a consolidated response Thursday in opposition to the defendants’ effort to send all pending sexual assault-related claims to arbitration.
“The sole question at this stage of these proceedings is whether Royal Caribbean can force every plaintiff/victim to dismiss their pending sexual assault dispute-related claims (from their chosen forum), and instead all proceed in separate and confidential arbitrations,” Adam Moskowitz began the motion. “The clear answer is they cannot.”
The defendants in the case are Royal Caribbean Cruises and Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a former Royal Caribbean Cruises’ attendant who was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to trespassing and breaking into many passenger cabins, and hiding cameras in passengers’ bathrooms and beds. Marisol’s victims included children from 2 to 17 years old.
Moskowitz, along with co-counsels Jason Margulies and Michael Winkleman of Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, filed both individual cases and a proposed class action complaint on behalf of the victims.
The plaintiff alleges that the Ending Forced Arbitration Act (EFAA) requires the court to deny the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration.
According to the plaintiff, Royal Caribbean Cruises cannot compel arbitration on those claims, based just on their contract of passage.
In a past article, Moskowitz said that this was the first time the EFAA, signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, has been cited in a case involving a cruise ship. The act has been primarily used in employment cases, but Moskowitz insisted the protection also exists for consumers.
No discovery has yet been permitted from the defendant, whom the plaintiff claimed is liable for the crimes committed by Mirasol during the course of 12 cruises.
The plaintiffs alleged in the motion that many companies have faced unexpected, horrible criminal conduct committed by their own employees, but each company is certainly responsible for how it responds and what actions it takes to preemptively stop such events.
“The more important question is why has RC not followed most of the largest consumer companies in the world,10 and expressly excluded sexual related claims from their form Arbitration Contracts?,” the motion stated.
“I certainly do not know maritime law like my esteemed colleagues,” Moskowitz said in an interview. “But I do know we have some of the most charitable and accomplished leaders here in our community, who fortunately own these cruise companies, such as the Arisons and Fains, and I’m not sure if they know about these horrible events.”
