Duc Chung v. Carnival Corporation

I. BACKGROUND

1 Eight individual plaintiffs bring this putative class action against Defendants 2 Carnival Corporation, a Panama corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida, Carnival 3 PLC, a Wales corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida (collectively, (“Carnival”)), 4 and Princess Cruise Lines LTD (“Princess”), a Bermuda corporation headquartered in 5 Santa Clarita, California (collectively, (“Defendants”)). (Dkt. 33, First Amend. Compl. 6 (“FAC”) ¶¶ 1-11.) Plaintiffs assert causes of action for negligence, gross negligence, 7 negligent infliction of emotional distress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress 8 based on Defendants’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the cruise ship the Grand 9 Princess. (See FAC.) According to Plaintiffs, Carnival and Princess are alter egos; Carnival “exerts control and domination over Princess’s business and day-to-day operations” and on this basis, Plaintiffs seek to hold Carnival, Princess’s parent company, liable in tort. (Id. ¶¶ 13-24.) Plaintiffs were passengers aboard the cruise ship Grand Princess from February 11, 2020 to February 21, 2020 on a roundtrip voyage from San Francisco to…