The Court of Appeal has dismissed Siobhan Kellett’s appeal over injuries she said she suffered during a jet-boat excursion in St Maarten, leaving in place the High Court’s dismissal of her claim against RCL Cruises Limited and two Panther Associates Limited businesses.
Kellett was injured during a shore excursion from the cruise ship Freedom of the Seas in April 2016. The excursion, called the White Knuckle Jet Boat Thrill Ride, was organised by RCL Cruises and provided locally by Captain Morgan Charters. Kellett alleged the boat lacked restraints or harnesses, padding around its sides and bars she could hold during forceful manoeuvres. She also alleged the skipper should have placed her differently in the boat.
The defendants accepted at trial that the holiday was a package and that they were its organisers. The High Court found that Kellett had not established that the service was provided without reasonable skill and care. The Court of Appeal, in judgments including one delivered by Mr Justice Maurice Collins on 21 May 2020, found no demonstrated error warranting the High Court decision being set aside.
Collins J said the High Court had decided the claim on the basis most favourable to Kellett: whether the excursion met the reasonable skill and care standard, without requiring a decision on what local regulations or standards applied in St Maarten. The evidence had not established what those local standards were. The appeal was dismissed.
The appeal judgment also discussed the law governing package-holiday claims involving overseas service providers. Collins J said local regulations and standards may inform whether a service was performed with reasonable care and skill, but should not necessarily determine that question. He described a broader assessment that could take account of the activity and its risks, the adequacy of local rules and the circumstances of the accident. These observations did not alter the outcome of Kellett’s appeal.
Collins J said the holidaymaker bears the burden of establishing improper performance and injury or loss; an accident alone does not establish liability. He also considered there was force in the argument that, where a holidaymaker provides initial evidence of failure and the organiser relies on compliance with local standards, the organiser may be better placed to prove those standards and compliance. He said a CJEU reference would have been appropriate had those issues been necessary to decide. They were not: he agreed the appeal should be dismissed.