Houston couple suing Carnival over stranded ship were never on the ship

The cruise ship Carnival Triumph is towed towards Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with over 1,000 passengers aboard has been idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) less The cruise ship Carnival Triumph is towed towards Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. The ship with over 1,000 passengers aboard has been idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico ... more Photo: Dave Martin, Associated Press Photo: Dave Martin, Associated Press Image 1 of / 108 Caption Close Houston couple suing Carnival over stranded ship were never on the ship 1 / 108 Back to Gallery

Last week, attorney John Bruster Loyd filed a lawsuit on behalf of his clients Luke Cash and Ami "Summer" Gallagher stating that that couple had been aboard Carnival Cruise Lines' ill-fated Triumph excursion in February.

An engine-room fire on the Triumph left 3,100 passengers stranded at sea for days with limited food and toilet service, quickly becoming a media and business problem for the cruise line.

The only problem is that the couple wasn't aboard the Triumph.

A previous profile by the Houston Chronicle around the time of the Triumph incident put the couple very much on dry land in Kemah at the time of the engine room fire. The couple told reporters that their planned wedding had been scuttled due to the Triumph's issues in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

Carnival also confirmed that the pair wasn't aboard.

"I can confirm that Luke Cash and Ami Gallagher were not passengers on the Feb. 7 voyage of Carnival Triumph which is the cruise during which the fire occurred," wrote Jennifer de la Cruz, Vice President of Public Relations with Carnival Cruise Lines in an email.

Loyd said when the lawsuit stated that Cash and Gallagher were enduring "deplorable, unsafe and unsanitary conditions," he had made a mistake.

"I screwed up," said Loyd.

"They told me the correct thing but so much time had passed since we last spoke about the case I forgot the biggest detail, that they hadn't been on the boat," Loyd said.

Loyd said he and his clients last spoke about the case six or seven months ago. In the meantime, Loyd forgot that one giant, important detail.

On Monday morning, he filed an amended petition. The couple is still suing Carnival for "breach of contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and fraud" but without the whole actually-on-the-cruise stuff.

"I had it in my brain that they were on the boat," said Loyd. "They never misled anyone. I just forgot their story."

Loyd said the couple took the bungle in stride.

The Cash couple released a joint statement Wednesday about their canceled cruise ordeal, but didn't mention their lawyer's recent foul-up. They did say that Carnival has made promises that they haven't made good on.



"We were told at the onset of this situation that we would be reimbursed for expenses lost for our Cozumel wedding that was already completely paid for. Even with the generosity of everyone that donated their time and services, we ended up having to spend thousands of dollars of our own money for a wedding that was already paid for," the couple said.



They say they had to dip into their savings account to cover the costs to make accommodations.

"As a newlywed couple, we would like to put this situation behind us and truly start our lives together with peace about the situation," they said.

Carnival weighed in on the suit that the Cash couple is bringing to their doorstep, with spokesperson de la Cruz saying in a statement that the cruise liner is baffled as to why they are even suing Carnival.

"That this lawsuit was filed, alleging the plaintiffs suffered injury and mental anguish during a cruise they weren’t even on, is truly shameful and reprehensible. Further, the fact that the suit also alleges misrepresentation and fraud is quite ironic."