Mealey's Coronavirus : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Coronavirus

September 11, 2023
North Carolina County Opposes Landowners’ High Court Pandemic Access Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dare County, N.C., property owners suing over a 45-day ban put in place in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic that prevented nonresident property owners from entering the county “have not—and cannot-allege that any physical appropriation or invasion occurred,” Dare County and six towns in the county (together, Dare County) argue in a respondent brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.
September 11, 2023
ADA Claims Against Medical Clinic By Patient Who Refused To Wear Mask Dismissed

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge dismissed without prejudice claims by a former patient against a medical clinic and some of its staff members that their refusal to treat him at the clinic for refusing to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic was in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and led to the exacerbation of a spinal injury that left him unable to work.
September 11, 2023
9th Circuit Panel Affirms That CARES Act Does Not Provide Private Right Of Action

SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of a California federal court dismissing five complaints brought by a COVID-19 test provider seeking reimbursement from an insurer for COVID testing services, agreeing with the lower court that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act does not provide a private right of action to diagnostic testing providers.
September 11, 2023
Federal Judge Denies Request To Amend NYC Prison Confinement Settlement

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York in a handwritten order that was modified on Sept. 8 denied a letter motion by plaintiffs who say they filed a similar case seeking to amend the class scope in a preliminarily approved $52 million settlement between New York and prisoners who allege that they were housed in “stealth isolation confinement facilities indefinitely” and denied due process.
September 11, 2023
8th Circuit Affirms Remand Of COVID Death Suit Against Care Home

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s order that remanded to state court a wrongful death suit filed against a nursing home and related entities by the son of a man who died after purportedly contracting COVID-19 at the nursing home, finding, in part, that the district court correctly remanded the case because the son’s claims are not preempted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act.
September 08, 2023
DOJ Says New Jersey Violated 14th Amendment Rights Of Veterans Homes’ Residents

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After conducting an almost three-year investigation into two New Jersey-run veterans homes, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sept. 7 released a 43-page report finding that it has “reasonable cause” to believe that by failing to provide adequate care during the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey violated the 14th Amendment rights of residents at the veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus.
September 08, 2023
11th Circuit Agrees To Hear Class Cert Appeal In University Closure Suit

ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 7 granted Emory University’s petition for permission to appeal a trial court decision granting class certification in a lawsuit by the parent of a student who seeks money back after classes and services were impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
September 07, 2023
N.J. Panel Remands Coronavirus Coverage Suit To Allow Insured To Amend Fraud Claims

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appeals panel on Sept. 6 reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a law firm insured’s fraud-based claims against its insurers in a coronavirus coverage dispute, remanding with instructions for the court to permit the insured to amend its complaint to adequately plead these claims, but affirmed the dismissal of the other claims.
September 06, 2023
University Worker Seeks Rehearing After 6th Circuit Upholds Vaccine Mandate

CINCINNATI — A Michigan State University (MSU) worker suing on behalf of a putative class that opposes the school’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate filed a petition for rehearing en banc after a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that the mandate did not violate employees’ constitutional rights and was not preempted by federal law.
September 01, 2023
NLRB Overrules 2019 Test That Narrowed Concerted Activity Determination

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Labor Relations Board released a decision on Aug. 31 in a case by an employee fired after raising concerns about his employer’s protocols during the coronavirus pandemic overruling the 2019 decision in Alstate Maintenance, LLC that the majority says narrowly construed concerted activity and returning to the principle established in 1986 in Meyers Industries.
September 01, 2023
False Claims Act Relator Dismisses Lender In Case Stemming From PPP Loan

SAN DIEGO — In a lawsuit brought on behalf of the United States under the False Claims Act by a financial officer alleging that the company that formerly employed him received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan during the COVID-19 pandemic by altering or misrepresenting its payroll records, the financial officer filed a notice of voluntary dismissal as to the bank that made the PPP loan, without prejudice to himself or to the United States.
August 31, 2023
In 2-1 Decision, 9th Circuit Reverses On Threshold Question In Preemption Row

SAN FRANCISCO — In a 2-1 ruling concerning a threshold issue, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed and remanded a summary judgment order against a trade organization that argued that a city and county of San Francisco ordinance concerning health insurance benefits for airline employees is preempted by federal law including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
August 31, 2023
Default Against Distributor Denied In Suit To Recover Payment For Undelivered PPE

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In a lawsuit brought by a medical equipment company against a health care product distributor and its CEO seeking the return of a $323,640 down payment for a shipment of nitrile gloves the company never received, a New York federal judge on Aug. 30 adopted a magistrate’s report and recommendation in its entirety, vacated the court clerk’s entry of default and denied the company’s motion for default judgment against the distributor.
August 31, 2023
California Appeals Court: School Controls Reimbursing Pandemic Work-From-Home Costs

LOS ANGELES — California State University (CSU) as a state agency had the discretion to set rules about work-from-home expense allowances during the coronavirus pandemic, a California appellate panel ruled, affirming a trial court’s judgment for the school in a putative class complaint by a professor.
August 30, 2023
6th Circuit Denies Stay Sought By Doctor In Vaccine Challenge During Appeal

CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied an emergency motion for a stay filed by a doctor who is appealing the denial of his motion to intervene in a class lawsuit over a health care provider’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy.
August 29, 2023
Federal Employees, Union Argue Against High Court Hearing Vaccine Injunction Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should deny a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the federal government in a case challenging an executive order (EO) mandating the COVID-19 vaccine as granting United States v. Munsingwear relief “would be unprecedented and inequitable” and the case is not moot even though the mandate has since been revoked, federal employees and Feds for Medical Freedom, a federal employee union, argue in their opposition brief.
August 29, 2023
Judge: Borrower Can Amend Suit Against Bank For Notice Of Default During COVID

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Aug. 28 refused to dismiss a borrower’s claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) against her bank for causing a notice of default on her loan while her application for loan assistance filed during the coronavirus pandemic was pending, dismissed her claim for violation of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) regulations and granted her leave to amend.
August 28, 2023
Medical Supply Dealer Ordered To Pay Customer $225,000 For Undelivered COVID Tests

MIAMI — A Florida federal judge on Aug. 25 granted in part the motion for default judgment of a Pennsylvania health and safety supply company, ruling that the company is entitled to recover a $225,000 deposit it paid a medical supply dealer toward a $5.5 million order for undelivered COVID-19 home antigen tests after the dealer’s counsel withdrew from the case and was not replaced by the required date.
August 25, 2023
Couple Who Says Resort’s Mask Policy Is Unconstitutional Failed To State Claims

PHOENIX — In granting two motions to dismiss, an Arizona federal judge found that a couple who were expelled from the Great Wolf Lodge in Phoenix after refusing to comply with the resort’s COVID-19 mask policy failed to state their claims of conspiracy and constitutional violations against the resort and that defendant Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community enjoys sovereign immunity from the claims.
August 24, 2023
Homeowner Alleges In Class Action Suit That Lender Unjustly Denied COVID-19 Aid

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A homeowner filed a class action in Pennsylvania federal court alleging violations of federal statutes and the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL) when a lender denied him a COVID-19 loss mitigation option on the ground that it would not have reduced the principal and interest portions of his Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage.
August 24, 2023
Remaining Civil Rights Claims In University COVID-19 Death Dismissed; Case Remanded

PITTSBURGH — In a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the administrator of a university student who died of COVID-19, a Pennsylvania federal judge on Aug. 23 sua sponte dismissed with prejudice civil rights claims against the employee of a company that owned and operated student housing and remanded the case to state court to address the surviving state law claims, ruling that the claims against the employee suffered from the same inadequacies as those previously dismissed against the university, university employees and various third parties.
August 24, 2023
Employees, Amazon File Notice Of Settlement In COVID-19 Screenings Case

FRESNO, Calif. — A notice of settlement was filed in a federal court in California by Amazon.com Services LLC and employees who filed a putative class complaint accusing the online retailer of failing to pay workers for time spent undergoing COVID-19 symptom screenings before their shifts.
August 23, 2023
University Of Miami Student Seeks Rehearing By 11th Circuit In Pandemic Class Suit

ATLANTA — A University of Miami student petitioned the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for rehearing or rehearing en banc after a panel found that her putative class complaint seeking partial refunds after all schooling was transitioned to online learning in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic failed to show that she was “entitled to damages stemming from any alleged breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or inadequate refunds on the part of” the school.
August 23, 2023
Illinois Law, Not New Jersey Law, Governs Travel Insurance Policies, Judge Says

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss a putative class action complaint alleging claims for violations of New Jersey law, breach of contract and bad faith based on the insurer’s denial of claims for the reimbursement of premiums paid for travel insurance policies following trip cancellations caused by the coronavirus pandemic because the master policy, which governs the travel insurance policies, is governed by Illinois law and not New Jersey law.
August 23, 2023
Judge: Nature Of Statements By PPE Supplier To Secure Contract Is Question Of Fact

WICHITA, Kan. — A Kansas federal judge denied a summary judgment motion of a personal protective equipment seller in a lawsuit brought by a customer alleging breach of a contract to purchase nitrile gloves and misrepresentation, finding that he could not conclude as a matter of law from the summary judgment record that the supplier had been excused from performance or that statements it made to secure the contract were not fraudulent.