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

Mealey's Coronavirus

August 13, 2024
Ex-Employee’s COVID-Related Discrimination Suit Tossed For Not Filing EEOC Claim

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge granted the dismissal motion of a hospital in a former employee’s lawsuit alleging religious discrimination and other violations in terminating her after she accepted a religious exemption from COVID-19 vaccination but then refused to wear an N95 mask as required by hospital policy, ruling that the employee failed to exhaust her administrative remedies and filed her lawsuit too late.
August 13, 2024
In COVID-19 Vaccine Case, Federal Judge Says Patent Preambles Must Be Considered

WILMINGTON, Del. — The term “vaccine” within the preamble of a patent that was allegedly infringed upon by the manufacturing of various COVID-19 vaccines is a limitation of the patent’s claims because the term describes the intended use of the patent itself, a Delaware federal judge found in issuing a claim construction order interpreting the patent at issue.
August 12, 2024
Insureds Drop Appeal In Coronavirus Coverage Suit In California

LOS ANGELES — One day after the insureds filed a request to dismiss their appeal of a Los Angeles County Superior Court’s judgment on a jury’s special verdict in favor of a commercial property insurer in a breach of contract coverage lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, Presiding Justice Gonzalo C. Martinez on Aug. 9 signed the order dismissing the appeal.
August 09, 2024
Michigan Supreme Court Declines Review Of Case Involving COVID-Era Tolling Order

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court denied a hospital patient’s application for leave to appeal a decision of the Michigan Court of Appeals, which ruled that the Supreme Court’s administrative order issued during the COVID-19 pandemic removing from the computation of filing deadlines the days spanning Michigan’s state of emergency did not apply to the statutory period required to elapse before a medical malpractice lawsuit could be filed and, thus, the patient’s lawsuit against a hospital and physicians was time-barred.
August 09, 2024
Judge: Facts As To Credit Reporting On Borrowers Whose Credit Score Sank For Jury

SANTA ANA, Calif. — In an action brought by mortgage borrowers alleging that their mortgage lender violated state and federal credit reporting and credit collection statutes stemming from their difficulties during COVID-19, a California federal judge granted the lender’s summary judgment motion with regard to one violation of the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA), finding that the lender was entitled to report the borrower’s loan as past due after they entered into a repayment plan, but denied the motion as to another alleged violation of the CCRAA as well as to alleged violations of the Rosenthal Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
August 09, 2024
California High Court Reverses Ruling In Insured’s Favor In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Aug. 8 reversed an appeals court’s ruling in favor of a San Francisco restaurant owner insured in a coverage dispute arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the lower court erred by declining to enforce the specified cause of loss limitation under the policy’s “Limited Fungi, Bacteria or Virus Coverage” endorsement.
August 09, 2024
PPP Borrower’s Suit Dismissed After Borrower Fails To Take Steps To Reinstate Case

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge’s order dismissing a lawsuit brought by a transportation services company alleging breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation and promissory estoppel against a bank that determined that only $53,017 of a $1.5 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan was eligible for forgiveness automatically converted to dismissal with prejudice after the company failed to move to reinstate the case by July 31.
August 08, 2024
Wash. High Court Answers Certified Questions On Amazon Pandemic Price Increases

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Price gouging may be an unfair act under Washington’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA), but a 15% price increase during a declared emergency is not automatically prohibited, the Washington Supreme Court majority ruled Aug. 8, answering reformulated questions certified by a Washington federal court in a putative class suit over Amazon.com Inc.’s price increases during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 08, 2024
Seller Owing $14.6M In Refunds From COVID-Era PPE Sales Seeks Rehearing En Banc

ST. LOUIS — After a divided panel of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Missouri federal court’s order permanently enjoining a personal protective equipment (PPE) retailer from any further sales of PPE and ordering the retailer to turn over $14,651,185.42 to the Federal Trade Commission to be used as equitable relief for failing to fulfill orders within the retailer’s advertised timeframe during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the retailer on Aug. 7 petitioned the Eighth Circuit for rehearing en banc.
August 07, 2024
Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Bad Faith Suit Prompted By Pandemic

NEW ORLEANS — Bound by its ruling in Baylor Scott & White Holdings v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co., the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 6 affirmed a federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insured in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 06, 2024
3rd Circuit: EEOC Email, Portal Upload Didn’t Start 90-Day Filing Period

PHILADELPHIA — An email from an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigator to an employee’s attorney regarding a forthcoming right-to-sue letter as well as the posting of the letter on the EEOC’s online portal did not start the 90-day clock for filing a complaint, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, vacating a trial court’s summary judgment ruling for the employer on the subsequent harassment and retaliation complaint.
August 01, 2024
COVID-Era Michigan Supreme Court Order Was Authorized, Saves Slip-And-Fall Case

LANSING, Mich. — A split Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that it acted constitutionally in issuing an administrative order dictating how limitations periods for commencing litigation were to be computed during the state of emergency declared during the COVID-19 pandemic, affirming a ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals and allowing a woman injured in a slip-and-fall incident to proceed with her lawsuit against an apartment property owner/manager.
July 31, 2024
Jury Returns $22.1M Verdict For Former Wells Fargo Manager In Disability Bias Suit

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal jury in North Carolina returned a $22.1 million verdict for a former Wells Fargo Securities LLC manager who was selected for layoff after his request to continue working from home when coronavirus pandemic-related working restrictions were lifted was denied.
July 30, 2024
Health System Seeks Rehearing Of Dismissal Of $192M Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — Texas’ largest nonprofit health system filed a petition seeking rehearing en banc of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ majority opinion that affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of its commercial property insurer in its lawsuit seeking coverage for $192 million in business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus.
July 30, 2024
Georgia Supreme Court Holds Statute Of Repose Tolled By COVID-Era Emergency Order

ATLANTA — Reversing a unanimous decision of a panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that a COVID-era judicial order tolling various court deadlines was authorized by law and applied to the state’s five-year statute of repose applicable to medical malpractice actions, allowing a woman’s malpractice claims against a hospital alleging the misdiagnosis of sepsis that resulted in amputations to move forward.
July 29, 2024
Navy SEALs Settle COVID-19 Vaccine Case For Record Corrections, Policy Changes

FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge in Texas granted final approval of a class settlement in a case by Navy SEALs and members of the Navy challenging a COVID-19 vaccine mandate; the agreement will provide corrections to their personnel records, policy changes, public postings and attorney fees.
July 29, 2024
Pilots Seek Rehearing After 6th Circuit Finds Vaccine Claims Must Go To Arbitration

CINCINNATI — Kalitta Air LLC pilots filed a petition for rehearing en banc or panel rehearing after a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a trial court ruling that their putative class claims over the airline’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate must go through arbitration first as minor disputes pursuant to the Railway Labor Act (RLA) because the dispute requires interpretation of the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
July 26, 2024
9th Circuit: Library COVID Mask Policy Dispute Properly Resolved By Trial Court

SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Washington federal judge’s dismissal of a city and its police officers and grant of summary judgment to a library district in a library patron’s lawsuit claiming Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other civil rights violations stemming from his refusal to wear a mask in a library and the response of the police and library staff.
July 26, 2024
Parties Stipulate To Dismissal Of Long COVID Disability Benefits Suit After Settlement

MIAMI — Following a second order issued by a Florida federal judge, the parties in a long-term disability (LTD) benefits suit stemming from a claimant’s diagnosis with long COVID filed a joint stipulation of dismissal on July 25 after settling the LTD claim.
July 24, 2024
AI Discrimination Claims By Expelled Student Must Be Arbitrated, Judge Says

MIAMI — A testing program company’s user agreement is not unconscionable and requires arbitration of claims alleging that its artificial intelligence program improperly identified a test taker as cheating based on her disability, but the former student has not shown that she can sustain discrimination claims against the university that used the testing program, a federal judge in Florida said.
July 23, 2024
9th Circuit: California High Court’s Answer Resolves Appeal In Insurer’s Favor

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 22 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of an insurer after the California Supreme Court answer “no” to the panel’s certified question and found that the “actual or potential presence of the COVID-19 virus on an insured's premises generally does not constitute ‘direct physical loss or damage to property’ for purposes of coverage under a commercial property insurance policy.”
July 22, 2024
Contamination, Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Coronavirus Losses

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Court of Appeals on July 19 affirmed a trial court’s ruling in favor of all-risk insurers that denied coverage for COVID-19 losses sustained by an insured because the policies’ contamination or pollution exclusion bars coverage for any contamination, seepage or pollution that endangers or threatens to endanger the health, safety or welfare of individuals.
July 19, 2024
Retailer Settles EEOC Suit Over Employee’s COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Beliefs

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A furniture retailer will pay $110,000 to end a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that accused the employer of failing to accommodate an employee’s request for religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate and then fired her for failure to be vaccinated, according to a consent decree signed by a federal judge in Florida on July 18.
July 17, 2024
Fact Issues Remain On Whether Pollution Exclusion Applies To Coronavirus Losses

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of the applicability of a pollution and contamination exclusion after determining that questions of fact exist as to whether the exclusion bars coverage for business losses sustained by an insured in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the judge granted the insurer’s motion on a bad faith claim after determining that the claim cannot survive because a legitimate coverage dispute exists.
July 17, 2024
$2.5 Million Walmart COVID-19 Screening Settlement Approved

PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona granted final approval of a $2.5 million settlement to be paid by Walmart Inc. and Wal-Mart Associates Inc. (together, Walmart) to end a class complaint seeking compensation under Arizona law for time spent undergoing mandatory COVID-19 screening before each shift.