Victims of ‘video voyeur’ on ship can’t be forced into arbitration, judge rules

In April, possible victims of a cruise ship crew member who planted a hidden camera to watch a young girl undress in her cabin obtained a significant legal victory in Fort Lauderdale federal court.

That ruling has now been upheld in the long, ongoing judicial process, giving them a second win.

On April 22, U.S. Magistrate Judge Detra Shaw-Wilder ruled against Miami-based Royal Caribbean’s attempt to require that all potential victims go through individual arbitration with the cruise line, generally a secretive process and often favored by corporations.

That decision, the Miami Herald first reported then, removed one of the biggest obstacles each plaintiff or guest was facing in holding the company accountable and receiving damages depending on how far the case advances.

Miami Federal Judge Darrin Gayles, in charge of the overall case, had requested Shaw-Wilder make a recommendation on that motion. He would then accept, reject or modify it.

On May 26, he accepted her ruling completely. After reviewing Royal Caribbean’s arguments and the magistrate’s conclusions, he wrote that he “agrees with Judge Shaw-Wilder’s well-reasoned findings and recommendation,” according to a court document.

The original class-action lawsuit was filed Oct. 15, 2024, in Miami federal court against Royal Caribbean Cruises and Arvin Mirasol, a former room attendant. The plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe in the complaint and represented by the Miami firm Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, was a passenger aboard Symphony of the Seas around Feb. 25, 2024.

Mirasol regularly cleaned passenger rooms, restocked towels and changed sheets on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, a vessel that carries 5,518 passengers and 2,200 crew members. But that wasn’t all he did, according to court filings and the criminal complaint from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

Searching his electronic equipment including a USB stick device, law enforcement agents found “several videos of naked females undressing in their bathrooms.” One girl seemed to be 10 years old, they said. He’d planted small, secret cameras in passengers’ rooms.

Mirasol was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in Fort Lauderdale federal court.

The civil class action suit initially claimed there could be up to 960 passengers who are victims. The complaint defines the class as passengers aboard Symphony of the Seas between Dec. 1, 2023, and Feb. 26, 2024, who stayed in cabins serviced by Mirasol. That was the period when Royal Caribbean employed Mirasol on Symphony of the Seas.

Because of the sexual nature of the crimes and the ages of victims, the law firms and the Miami Herald are not identifying any of the passengers.

On Tuesday, Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to Judge Gayles’ new ruling. The company has previously declined to comment on ongoing litigation or investigations in this case and others. In court, it continues to appeal the overall case.

Early on, Royal Caribbean tried to dismiss the suit, saying any passenger with an emotional or mental trauma complaint not involving physical contact or physical injury — like video voyeurism — must go through individual arbitration. The company says that’s because passengers agreed to that when buying their cruise ship tickets and signing the required contract.

They said there would be exceptions if physical contact or sexual assault occurred, but they denied that’s what happened here.

The cruise line also claims the Federal Arbitration Act and subsequent court cases support its argument. The firm Cozen O’Connor is representing RCL.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers countered that Royal Caribbean was greatly downplaying the injuries the victims suffered. They argue, citing experts, that sexual assault and sexual harassment don’t require physical contact.

The victims’ attorneys, from Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman P. A and the Moskowitz Law Firm, also cited federal laws, including a maritime law and the Ending Forced Arbitration Act, which the U.S. Congress enacted in 2022 that bars employers from requiring arbitration for disputes related to sexual assault or harassment. Its full name is the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act and is often referred to as the EFAA.

In April, U.S. Magistrate Shaw-Wilder ruled that the plaintiffs were right on all those questions.

Subsequently, in his ruling in late May, Gayles wrote that “In her Report, Judge Shaw-Wilder found that both the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act ... preclude the Court from enforcing the arbitration provision in Royal Caribbean’s ticket contract based on Plaintiffs’ claims.”

He noted that “Royal Caribbean raises several objections.”

But he decided that “Judge Shaw-Wilder’s Report and Recommendation ... is adopted in full; and ... Royal Caribbean’s Omnibus Motion to Stay Litigation and Compel Arbitration ... is denied.”