(CN) — Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings on Tuesday sued Florida’s surgeon general, asking a federal judge to block the enforcement of a law enacted earlier this year that bans companies operating in the Sunshine State from asking customers if they are vaccinated against Covid-19.
In a 19-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the company said it was suing Florida surgeon general Dr. Scott Rivkees “as a last resort.”
Norwegian argues that Florida’s law preventing businesses, schools and government agencies from requiring people to show proof of Covid-19 vaccinations before gaining entry threatens “imminent, substantial, irreparable harms” to the cruise line’s business.
Violating the law and asking for proof of vaccination would cost Norwegian $5,000 per passenger in fines.
The company says cruises will be placed at risk of cancellation and possible Covid-19 outbreak if the ban is enforced, “resulting in a substantial loss of revenue, losses of wages for NCLH’s crew, harm to NCLH’s brand, goodwill and reputation with past and potential passengers, as well as substantial, adverse impacts on interstate and foreign commerce.”
“Worst of all, human life and safety would be placed at undue risk,” the complaint says.
The company is asking for an injunction barring enforcement of the law so that it can resume sailing out of Florida on Aug. 15 under the health and safety protocols it developed to comply with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A representative for the Florida Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.
Norwegian suspended operations on March 13, 2020, in response to the pandemic, one day before the CDC issued a “No Sail Order and Suspension of Further Embarkation” restricting cruise operations.
The company says it has made “Herculean efforts” to restart sailing operations in a manner that complies with stringent CDC rules.
According to the complaint, the company has told the CDC that at least 95% of passengers and 95% of crew members on its upcoming cruise will be confirmed as fully vaccinated before setting sail.
“Yet one anomalous, misguided intrusion threatens to spoil NCLH’s careful planning and force it to cancel or hobble upcoming cruises, thereby imperiling and impairing passengers’ experiences and inflicting irreparable harm of vast dimensions,” the complaint says.
Norwegian claims that Florida’s law conflicts with federal law, blocks communications between a business and its customers in violation of the First Amendment, disrupts the flow of interstate and international commerce, and “inexplicably” precludes Norwegian from “protecting the health and safety of its employees and customers against the extraordinary backdrop of a deadly pandemic.”
The complaint also points out that Florida’s law is incompatible with laws at foreign ports which require proof of vaccination to enter, including Belize, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and Honduras.
“No other port or jurisdiction visited by NCLH imposes any such ban on vaccine documentation. Only Florida is bidding to constrain NCLH in this critical respect, yet the resulting threat imperils all of NCLH’s employees, passengers, and operations around the world,” the complaint alleges.
In an affidavit filed Tuesday, Norwegian CEO Frank Del Rio said the law could force the company to modify or cancel the itinerary of an Aug. 15 cruise which departs from Miami because its passengers are expecting 100% vaccination of the passengers and crew onboard.
Del Rio says the cancellation could cost the company approximately $4 million in revenues and predicted that the loss of revenue caused by the ban could exceed $100 million in 2021.
Norwegian is represented by John O’Sullivan and Olga Vieira of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
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