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

Mealey's Coronavirus

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.
August 22, 2023
8th Circuit Affirms No Coverage Ruling In Kansas City Restaurants’ COVID-19 Suit

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 21 affirmed a Missouri federal court’s judgment in favor of a commercial property insurer in a breach of contract lawsuit brought by the owner of several Kansas City restaurants and bars that were forced to close or reduce their operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that even if the insured discovered the coronavirus at its insured properties, it failed to meet the standard for physicality.
August 21, 2023
Air Force Secretary, Others Ask High Court To Consider Vaccine Mandate Class Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should hear the appeal in a lawsuit filed by members of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons after the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals left in place class certification and a classwide injunction as the vaccine mandate has been rescinded, the appeals are moot and vacatur is appropriate under United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., the Air Force secretary and others argue in a petition for a writ of certiorari.
August 21, 2023
California High Court Agrees To Review Tribe’s Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court granted an Indian tribe insured’s petition to review a state appellate court’s finding that the insured and its experts failed to present sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the coronavirus caused property damage to the tribe’s casino and resort.
August 21, 2023
Illinois Panel Modifies, Affirmatively Answers Care Home COVID Immunity Question

ELGIN, Ill. — An Illinois appeals court answered in the affirmative a question certified to it from a lower court after modifying it to ask whether a specific executive order issued by the Illinois governor grants “immunity for ordinary negligence claims to healthcare facilities that rendered assistance to the State during the COVID-19 pandemic,” finding that the order “neither overrides nor is inconsistent with the General Assembly’s grant of authority to the Governor” pursuant to the Illinois Emergency Management Act.
August 17, 2023
Parents Challenging Schools’ COVID-19 Measures Fail To Establish Cognizable Claims

HAMMOND, Ind. — An Indiana federal magistrate judge granted the motion of a public school corporation, its superintendent and several school board members in a lawsuit challenging the measures the school corporation took in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as being in violation of Indiana state law and the state and federal constitutions, finding that a controversy no longer existed given the termination of all COVID-19-related measures and that the parents otherwise failed to state cognizable claims.
August 16, 2023
BYU Student Seeks Leave To Refile For Class Certification In Pandemic Closure Case

OGDEN, Utah — A Brigham Young University (BYU) student filed a motion in a federal court in Utah seeking leave to file a renewed motion for class certification in a lawsuit over the school’s failure to provide partial refunds of tuition and fees after classes were switched to online-only during the coronavirus pandemic; the motion came less than a month after the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied rehearing after upholding the trial court’s denial of class certification.
August 16, 2023
8th Circuit: Pharmacies OK Denying Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine For COVID

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed that Minnesota law does not recognize a right of “self-determination” that overrides the judgment of the Food and Drug Administration, medical organizations and two pharmacies that ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine cannot be dispensed off-label to treat COVID-19.
July 27, 2023
COMMENTARY: COVID-19, Generative AI And The “Lost Generation” Of Lawyers

By Jennifer M. Driscoll and Linn F. Freedman