Carnival Tequila Lawsuit Verdict: $300,000 Award and Appeal

A federal jury in Miami returned a verdict in the Carnival tequila lawsuit on April 10, 2026, awarding passenger Diana Sanders $300,000 after finding Carnival Corporation negligent for serving her at least 14 shots of tequila aboard the Carnival Radiance. The jury assigned 60% of the fault to Carnival and 40% to Sanders. Carnival has said it will seek a new trial and appeal.¹²

What Happened on the Carnival Radiance

Sanders, a 45-year-old nurse from Vacaville, California, boarded the Carnival Radiance out of Los Angeles on January 5, 2024. She and two friends were using the cruise line’s Cheers! beverage package, which allows up to 15 alcoholic drinks in a 24-hour period.³ Between roughly 2:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m., she was served at least 14 tequila shots over about eight hours and 39 minutes.¹

Sometime between 11:45 p.m. and 12:20 a.m., Sanders fell down a staircase. She was found unconscious in a crew-only area on Deck 0, five decks below the Casino Bar on Deck 5, where she had last been drinking. She has said she has no memory of how she ended up in the restricted area.⁴⁵

Her complaint listed a concussion, persistent headaches, a possible traumatic brain injury, back and tailbone injuries, bruising, and PTSD.¹

How the Trial Played Out

Sanders sued Carnival in 2024. The case was tried before a six-person jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami. Her attorney, Spencer M. Aronfeld of Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, argued that bartenders should have cut her off and that all-inclusive drink packages encourage overconsumption.⁵¹

Jurors were also shown evidence of a 30-minute gap in the ship’s security camera footage covering the window between when Sanders left the Casino Bar and when she was found. Her team argued Carnival failed to preserve that footage.⁴⁵

Carnival’s lawyers pushed back on two fronts. They said Sanders could not identify the specific crew members who served her or the specific bars where the drinks were purchased, and they argued no evidence showed she had displayed visible signs of intoxication such as stumbling, slurred speech, or falling asleep at the bar.¹

What the Jury Found

After a weeklong trial, the jury awarded $300,000, which was more than the $250,000 Sanders’ team had asked for. The jury found that Carnival crew members had a duty to supervise and assist passengers they knew, or should have known, were engaging in behavior potentially dangerous to themselves. The verdict form was entered on the court docket on April 13, 2026.¹

The comparative-fault split matters. Under the jury’s 60/40 allocation, Sanders’ recovery is reduced by her own share of responsibility for drinking the shots.² Carnival still bore the majority of the fault in the jury’s view.

Carnival’s Appeal and the Cheers! Package

A Carnival spokesperson said on April 14, 2026, that the company “respectfully disagrees with the verdict and believes there are grounds for a new trial and appeal, which it will pursue.” As of mid-2026, the verdict has not been paid and no appellate ruling has issued.¹³

The Cheers! program caps passengers at 15 alcoholic drinks per 24-hour period beginning at 6 a.m. Carnival says the program has “flags built into the system that are designed to monitor guests’ alcohol consumption” and that staff are trained to watch for signs of intoxication and refuse service to visibly intoxicated guests.⁶ The jury concluded those safeguards did not prevent what happened to Sanders.

Why This Verdict Is Unusual

Cruise line overservice claims are governed by general maritime law, not state dram shop statutes. Cruise lines owe passengers a duty of reasonable care, which includes not serving alcohol to obviously intoxicated guests and taking steps to protect them from foreseeable harm. Passenger ticket contracts typically require suits to be filed in the Southern District of Florida.⁴

Aronfeld said the outcome is notable because these cases rarely reach a jury. “It’s hard to get to trial, period,” he told the Miami Herald. “I’ve had many overservice cases that have settled but none that went the full distance.”¹ Whether the $300,000 award survives Carnival’s appeal could shape how future passengers pursue similar claims.

1
Miami Herald. Jury Orders Carnival Cruise Line to Pay $300,000 to Guest Served 14 Tequila Shots
2
Washington Times. Jury Orders Carnival Cruise Line to Pay $300,000 to Guest Served 14 Tequila Shots
3
New York Times. Carnival Cruise Lawsuit Damages Tequila Shots
4
NBC Bay Area. Carnival Cruise Passenger Overserved Serious Fall Lawsuit
5
Global News. Carnival Cruise Passenger Diana Sanders Wins Lawsuit Overserved Tequila Shots Serious Fall
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Carnival Cruise Line. Cheers! Beverage Program Q&A