The Scenic Group agreed to pay $26 million AUD in damages to a group of 1,200 passengers who filed a class action lawsuit against the company.

The payment agreement was reached this past week, according to Lawerly, an Australian website specialized in law news and reports.

Related to the company’s river cruising operations in Europe, the long-running litigation was filed almost ten years ago in Australia.

The lawsuit follows extreme river levels and flooding in April and May 2013, which prevented Scenic’s riverboats from sailing safely in the Rhine and Danube rivers.

According to the plaintiffs, instead of cancelling the cruises scheduled to depart during the period, Scenic chose to operate the routes by land, using buses.

The decision caused affected guests to incur economic losses, in addition to general distress and disappointment, said the law firm who initiated the class action.

The Scenic Group also agreed to pay an additional $3 million AUD towards the legal costs incurred by the plaintiffs.

Operating under two different brands, the Scenic Group sails a fleet of over 25 cruise ships. In addition to river cruising, the company launched ocean cruise operations in 2019, with the Scenic Eclipse.