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Law360 (March 27, 2020, 4:50 PM EDT ) Multiple public officials have been hit with lawsuits over their actions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, vendors are facing allegations of price-gouging, and a proposed class has accused China of hiding the dangers of the coronavirus outbreak and costing U.S. small businesses billions of dollars.
While courts across the country are altering procedures, restricting access and postponing certain cases to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the outbreak has also prompted a wave of new lawsuits being filed across the country.
Here's a breakdown of some of the COVID-19-related cases from the past week.
Insider Trading
Already facing intense public backlash and calls for his resignation, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., was hit with a lawsuit Monday for unloading his stock holdings just before the coronavirus pandemic roiled the U.S. economy.
A shareholder of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. sued the senator over his reported sale of up to $1.7 million in stock on Feb. 13, after receiving confidential briefings about the potential impact of COVID-19's spread and while he was assuring the public that the U.S. was equipped to handle the pandemic.
Filed in D.C. federal court, the lawsuit said Burr breached his duty by selling stock, including Wyndham stock, based on nonpublic information.
Wyndham investor Alan D. Jacobson is the first to accuse Burr of "exploiting material information unavailable to the public" in a lawsuit, but the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman came under fire last week after a pair of nonprofits reported that he and his wife had sold stock holdings valued at between $628,000 and $1.72 million.
Price-Gouging
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Tuesday said she has issued subpoenas to 43 third-party sellers in the state that have been accused of price-gouging essential goods on Amazon during the coronavirus pandemic.
Allegations against the vendors include excessive increases of as much as 1,662% on prices charged for face masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectants, according to Moody's office.
Amazon also provided the attorney general's office with detailed information on the actions of the 43 sellers that are the subject of the subpoenas, according to a Tuesday letter Moody released that she sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Business Disruption
Small-business owners have also filed lawsuits over orders to close "nonessential" businesses in their respective states to contain the spread of COVID-19.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and the state police were hit with a lawsuit March 23 by a firearms store and gun rights groups who say their right to bear arms was violated when firearms and ammunition retailers were ordered to temporarily close their doors.
Legend Firearms, the New Jersey Second Amendment Society and Second Amendment Foundation Inc. claimed in their federal lawsuit that Murphy ran afoul of the state and federal constitutions, and seek to enjoin the state from enforcing the closure of gun stores and to resume online background checks, saying the coronavirus emergency "has its constitutional limits."
In Pennsylvania, a proposed class of small businesses who say they are "on the precipice of economic collapse" are suing the state government over its COVID-19 closure, saying in their federal complaint that the government "despite issuing the COVID-19 closure orders for a readily apparent public purpose" failed to compensate those "who suffered substantial — and perhaps total — diminution of value in their property interests as a result."
Five other small businesses say China engaged in a "cover-up" of COVID-19 in the weeks following the country's first diagnosis and sparked a pandemic that has caused U.S. small businesses to suffer billions of dollars of damages due to government shutdowns, according to a proposed class complaint filed March 23 in Nevada federal court.
Employment
A Chicago nurse has claimed she was fired for warning colleagues that masks provided by Northwestern Memorial Hospital were inadequate to protect against COVID-19, according to a suit filed in Illinois state court on March 23.
The alleged retaliation came the day after she sent an email to colleagues and supervisors saying that N95 face masks — which filter out 95% of airborne particles — are safer and more effective than the masks being distributed by the hospital.
Bringing a claim of retaliation under Illinois' Whistleblower Act, the nurse said she opted to use N95 masks that were in her possession instead of the less-effective face masks that the hospital required its employees to wear, even though Northwest doesn't allow its staff to wear N95 masks.
Insurance
Other businesses are petitioning courts to declare their insurance policies will cover them for coronavirus-related business losses.
The Chickasaw and Choctaw nations filed lawsuits in Oklahoma court against an AIG unit, Lloyd's of London and other insurance companies on Tuesday asking a court for an order that any financial losses to their casinos and other businesses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic be covered by their insurance policies.
Both the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations have temporarily closed their casinos and other businesses, including restaurants, in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus, according to their websites.
In two separate petitions, the Oklahoma tribes asked the court for judgments declaring that their insurance policies cover any losses and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic and that AIG, Lloyd's of London and other insurance companies named as defendants be responsible for the losses.
In California, famed chef Thomas Keller made a similar request, asking a federal court to decide whether the chef's insurance policy with Hartford Fire Insurance Co. allows him to recover business losses suffered in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Public Policy
Planned Parenthood claims Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken advantage of the global pandemic to enforce his "extreme, antiabortion agenda," according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Western District of Texas.
The reproductive health organization wants a federal judge to bar state officials from enforcing what the organization calls an unconstitutional ban on abortions ordered by Paxton as part of an effort to free up personal protective equipment for doctors and hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic.
Arguing the restrictions would force patients to continue their pregnancies — depriving them of their constitutional rights and placing a heavier burden on the state's health care system — Planned Parenthood and three other abortion clinics in the Lone Star State are asking for immediate relief from Texas' ban, which threatens a fine of up to $1,000 and a 180-day jail sentence for those who don't comply.
The lawsuit lists Paxton, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, several members of state health agencies and nine district attorneys as defendants.
Abbott isn't the only governor facing litigation this week. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was hit with a lawsuit from Santa Rosa Beach attorney Daniel Uhlfelder over failing to close the beaches statewide.
--Additional reporting by Jeannie O' Sullivan, Dean Seal, Carolina Bolado, Nathan Hale, Diana Novak Jones, Katie Pohlman, Y. Peter Kang, Jasmin Boyce, Lauren Berg and Jeff Sistrunk. Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.
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