The Full Court of the Federal Court in Carnival plc
v Karpik (The Ruby Princess) [2022] FCAFC 149 has considered
whether contracts which purport to exclude a right to participate
in a class action are enforceable under Australian
law.
The Court held that a class action waiver clause contained
within a contract governed by US law, and subject to a US exclusive
jurisdiction clause, is not inherently unlawful, is not contrary to
the statutory purpose of the Federal class action regime provided
for in Part IVA of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976
(Cth), and is therefore enforceable.
Background
The appeal before the Full Court was in the context of class
action proceedings brought against the vessel owners and time
charters (Operators) of the cruise ship Ruby
Princess over their handling of a deadly COVID-19 outbreak in
2020.
