9th Circuit Asked To Overturn Garcia Dismissal, Find PREP Act Doesn’t Apply

Mealey's (May 13, 2021, 1:26 PM EDT) -- SAN FRANCISCO — Saying that a federal judge in California’s ruling that the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act completely preempts state law claims and immunizes a senior living facility from liability in the COVID-19-related death of a resident “is the only one among more than 25 similar district court cases around the country to misconstrue the PREP Act in this manner,” the resident’s family in a May 11 appellant brief asks the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse the dismissal and remand their suit, arguing that the act is not a complete preemption statute because it does not provide an exclusive federal cause of action for their claims....