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

Mealey's Coronavirus

July 09, 2024
8th Circuit Reinstates Health Worker’s Religious Bias Vaccine Mandate Case

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A physical therapist who accuses her employer of discrimination related to requirements for workers who were granted religious exemptions from the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate may proceed with her claims as “all reasonable inferences” must be granted in the employee’s favor and the court “cannot assume at this early juncture that religious discrimination did not occur because one subset of potential comparators also faced disparate treatment,” an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled.
July 08, 2024
Texas Panel Affirms No Coverage Ruling In Restaurants’ Suit Arising From Pandemic

DALLAS — A Texas appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of a commercial property insurer’s motion for summary judgment in two restaurant group insureds’ lawsuit seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, concluding that the insureds failed to present “more than a scintilla of evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact that COVID-19 caused ‘direct physical loss of or damage to’” to their restaurants.
July 08, 2024
8th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Religious Bias Claims

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A 3M Co. worker who cited his religious beliefs when he opposed the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate but later abandoned the argument failed to show that he was discriminated against due to his religion, an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled July 5.
July 08, 2024
Federal Judge: No Class Certification In COVID Shot Stock Loss Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a motion for class certification in a securities dispute brought by investors who claim that a biotechnology company, a hedge fund that backed it and others issued false statements about a COVID-19 vaccine in a massive stock pump-and-dump scheme, saying that both the investors and the hedge fund failed to grapple with the unique issues the case presents.
July 08, 2024
Split 8th Circuit Panel Upholds $14.6M PPE Refund For Violations Of FTC Act

ST. LOUIS — 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 violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Mail, Internet or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule in failing to fulfill orders within the retailer’s advertised timeframe during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 08, 2024
Ferry Authority To 1st Circuit: Workers Likely Won’t Succeed With Vaccine Claims

BOSTON — A trial court properly denied a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction filed by employees of a Massachusetts ferry operations authority who sued after their requests for religious exemptions from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate were denied as the workers failed to show any likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, the authority and its director of Human Resources argue in an appellee brief filed in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
July 05, 2024
Doctor Seeks To Reargue That COVID-Era Malpractice Claim Is Procedurally Deficient

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A physician filed a motion in Connecticut state court seeking to reargue her contention that an opinion letter necessary to support a malpractice claim of a patient alleging that her head injury was misdiagnosed as gastroenteritis during the COVID-19 pandemic was insufficient, arguing that the complaint falsely stated that she was a nonspecialist and that the opinion letter was not written by a sufficiently similar health care provider and, thus, that her motion to dismiss was erroneously denied.
June 28, 2024
High Court Overrules Chevron Deference, Changes Standard For Regulatory Review

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 voted 6-3 to overrule the doctrine of Chevron deference as incompatible with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations, changing governing precedent for federal courts reviewing agencies’ regulatory actions.
June 28, 2024
Majority Affirms Dismissal Of Suit Seeking $192M In Losses Arising From Coronavirus

NEW ORLEANS — A majority of a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 27 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of a commercial property insurer in Texas’ largest nonprofit health system’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its $192 million in business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus, but the dissenting judge found that the case is distinct because the insured pleaded tangible alterations to its property.
June 27, 2024
On Remand, Judge Dismisses Ski Resort Passholders’ COVID-19 Closure Claims

DENVER — On remand from the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a Colorado federal judge again dismissed season passholders’ lawsuit against ski resort owners for refusing to refund their purchases after abruptly ending the season due to COVID-19, finding that the resorts’ contracts with passholders prohibited refunds and the passholders failed to plead a violation of various states’ consumer protection laws, including California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
June 26, 2024
California Federal Court OKs Venue Transfer For COVID Vaccine Securities Suit

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California transferred to a federal court in New York a putative class complaint brought by investors in a biotechnology company who say the company misled them by suggesting that its COVID-19 vaccine was still relevant despite not having approval from the Food and Drug Administration to target the most common subvariant at the time, after the parties stipulated to transfer the venue for the convenience of all involved.
June 26, 2024
Unpaid Leave Subclass Certified In Vaccine Mandate Suit Against United Airlines

FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge in Texas partially granted a motion for class certification filed by United Airlines employees suing over the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, opining that the proposed subclass of employees who requested religious accommodations and were placed on unpaid leave satisfied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3)’s superiority requirement, as well as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)’s commonality and typicality requirements.
June 25, 2024
Nevada Judge Denies Insurers’ Summary Judgment Motion In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

LAS VEGAS — A Nevada judge denied insurers’ joint motion for partial summary judgment in a coronavirus coverage dispute, finding that the insurers have failed to satisfy their burden of showing that a recent Nevada Supreme Court ruling controls this lawsuit and that the policies at issue expressly extend the scope of coverage afforded for the “Infectious or Contagious Disease” peril.
June 25, 2024
Judge: No Private Right Of Action In CARES Act For COVID Test Reimbursement

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York federal judge on June 24 granted a consolidated motion to dismiss filed by a group of health insurers in lawsuits brought by a COVID-19 testing lab seeking reimbursement for testing it claims the insurers should have paid for on behalf of its insureds during the pandemic.
June 20, 2024
2nd Circuit Lifts Stay Of Clothing Boutique’s Appeal In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals lifted the stay of a clothing boutique owner insured’s appeal of a federal district court’s order that denied its motion to alter or amend a judgment dismissing its breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking business interruption and property damage coverage for its losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown orders.
June 19, 2024
Whistleblower, Government Settle Qui Tam Suit Against PPP Loan Recipient Church

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal court issued an order of dismissal pursuant to a joint stipulation filed by the federal government and a former employee of a church indicating that they had reached a settlement with the church after the employee brought a False Claims Act (FCA) suit accusing the church of making misrepresentations on an application for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and not using the funds in accordance with the rules for loan forgiveness.
June 18, 2024
Panera $4 Million Advertised Delivery Fee Settlement Ends 3 Class Lawsuits

ST. LOUIS — A class settlement between a fast food chain and customers with a value of more than $4 million was approved by a Missouri judge, ending three class complaints alleging that Panera Bread Co. and Panera LLC (together, Panera) falsely advertised no- or low-cost delivery fees while charging customers additional hidden charges when food delivery increased in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
June 17, 2024
Lakers, Insurer Dismiss Coronavirus Coverage Dispute In California Federal Court

LOS ANGELES —The Los Angeles Lakers and its commercial property insurer filed a stipulation asking a California federal court to dismiss with prejudice the insured’s lawsuit arising from its property damage and business interruption claims for losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
June 17, 2024
StubHub, Ticket Purchasers Dismiss 28 Class Claims In Pandemic Cancellation Suit

OAKLAND, Calif. — StubHub Inc. and the ticket purchasers who accuse StubHub in a consolidated class complaint in a federal court in California of changing its refund policies for events canceled or rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic filed a stipulation to dismiss 28 of the 31 claims, leaving in place claims under California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising law (FAL).
June 12, 2024
Company Says Worker Fails To Plead Discrimination Case As To Its Vaccination Policy

PORTLAND, Ore. — In a lawsuit by a former employee alleging that her employer failed to make a good faith effort to accommodate her religious beliefs and medical disability, both of which led her to decline a company-mandated COVID-19 vaccination, which caused her dismissal, the employer moved an Oregon federal court for judgment on the pleadings, contending that the employee failed to plead facts sufficient to show that she held a bona fide religious belief that conflicted with the employer’s vaccination policy or that she was disabled within the meaning of state or federal law.
June 11, 2024
Hydroxychloroquine Maker Says Complaining Distributor Gave Up Reimbursement Rights

TRENTON, N.J. — In a lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court by a pharmaceutical supplier alleging that a manufacturer breached a contract for the purchase of large quantities of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine phosphate in refusing to provide refunds for unsold product and failing to indemnify the supplier for sale prices that ran afoul of state law, the manufacturer moved for judgment on the pleadings, contending that the supplier had relinquished its reimbursement rights in writing and that it was not responsible for the supplier’s resale prices.
June 10, 2024
PPP Loan Recipient Gets Most Of Forgiveness It Sought In Settlement With SBA

CHICAGO — A Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan recipient and the Small Business Administration (SBA) on June 7 filed a stipulation for compromise settlement and release that provides forgiveness of 90% of the recipient’s loan, for which it had previously been denied forgiveness by the SBA, in exchange for releasing the government from all claims in connection with the loan.
June 07, 2024
Late Housing Discrimination Claim Not Saved By Pandemic- Related Equitable Tolling

GREENBELT, Md. — A Maryland federal judge on June 6 granted a motion to dismiss filed by an apartment complex’s owner and operator in a disabled prospective renter’s lawsuit alleging that he was refused an apartment in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), finding that the lawsuit was untimely and that the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic did not provide an adequate basis for equitable tolling.
June 06, 2024
Judge: Amazon Immune From Workers’ Temperature Scan Class Suit Under PREP Act

CHICAGO — A warehouse worker’s putative class complaint accusing her employer of violating Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by scanning workers’ temperatures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was terminated by a federal magistrate judge in Illinois who found that the employer was entitled to statutory immunity based on the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act).
June 06, 2024
Parties Settle Disability Benefits Suit Stemming From Long COVID Diagnosis

MIAMI — A Florida federal judge ordered the parties in a long-term disability (LTD) benefits suit stemming from a claimant’s diagnosis with long COVID to file a joint stipulation of dismissal and administratively closed the case after the parties notified the court that they reached a settlement.