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Mealey's Coronavirus

  • April 30, 2024

    California Nursing Home Chain Settles COVID-Related Medicare Fraud Claims For $7M

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a California-based chain of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and two of its executives agreed to pay  $7,084,000 to settle a federal False Claims Act (FCA) suit related to alleged fraudulent billing for a higher level of skilled care than needed under Medicare Part A for facility residents who did not test positive for COVID-19 but were near a person who did, thereby fraudulently increasing the SNFs Medicare revenue.

  • April 30, 2024

    Employee Who Refused COVID Tests Appeals Dismissal Of Constructive Discharge Case

    MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minnesota county public defender filed a notice of appeal to the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 29, seeking review of a Minnesota federal court’s dismissal of the public defender’s complaint alleging that she was constructively discharged from her position and resigned under duress after she refused to submit to COVID-19 testing in lieu of vaccination as the county transitioned back to an in-office working environment.

  • April 30, 2024

    Walmart Says It’s Entitled To End Contract That Led To $100M Verdict Against It

    FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A national retail chain moved an Arkansas federal court for judgment as a matter of law or, in the alternative, a new trial after a jury awarded one of its suppliers more than $100 million for reneging on a promise to purchase millions of boxes of nitrile gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic, alleging several bases that entitled it to terminate the contract, including the supplier’s tortious conduct involving one of the retailer’s employees who was a central figure in the glove deal.

  • April 30, 2024

    Hydroxychloroquine Maker Says It Was Seller, Not It, That Broke Distribution Deal

    TRENTON, N.J. — In a lawsuit brought by a pharmaceutical supplier alleging that a manufacturer breached a contract for the purchase of large quantities of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine phosphate in refusing it refunds for unsold product, the manufacturer in its answer and counterclaims alleged that the supplier relinquished any rights to reimbursement and in fact owed the manufacturer more than $1.7 million for unpaid invoices.

  • April 29, 2024

    Class Counsel Motions Sealed As $185M Settlement Mulled In Mortgage Suits

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal magistrate judge in Ohio directed that two motions for appointment of class counsel filed in related suits accusing Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and Wells Fargo and Co. (together, Wells Fargo) of violating state and federal law by engaging in a scheme to place borrowers into a forbearance program during the COVID-19 pandemic be temporarily sealed pending resolution of the motions to seal; the order came just over a week after the plaintiffs in both cases filed a joint motion for preliminary approval of a $185 million settlement.

  • April 29, 2024

    U.S. High Court Won’t Consider Military Chaplains’ Vaccine Mandate Challenge

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 29 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by military chaplains who sued over the denial of their religious accommodation requests when it came to the COVID-19 vaccine and argued that their lawsuit remains live despite the revocation of the mandate.

  • April 29, 2024

    Texas High Court: Pandemic Act Applies Retroactively To School Closure Class Suit

    AUSTIN, Texas — The retroactive application of Texas’ Pandemic Liability Protection Act (PLPA) to a university student’s breach of contract claim in a putative class complaint over the school’s closure during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic does not violate the Texas Constitution, the state’s highest court ruled April 26, answering a question certified by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • April 25, 2024

    PPP Borrower Appeals SBA Denial Of Loan Forgiveness Based On Initial Ineligibility

    AMARILLO, Texas — In a lawsuit brought by a truck dealer against the federal government challenging the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) determination that the dealer was not initially eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and thus ineligible for loan forgiveness, the truck dealer on April 24 filed a notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of a Texas federal judge’s rulings upholding the SBA’s decision and denying the dealer’s motion to alter or amend the opinion.

  • April 24, 2024

    3rd Circuit Lifts Stay In Ralph Lauren’s Appeal Of Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

    PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an order lifting a stay of Ralph Lauren Corp.’s appeal of a New Jersey federal court’s ruling in favor of its insurer in a coronavirus coverage dispute, referring the insured’s motion to vacate and remand to the motions panel.

  • April 23, 2024

    D.C. Panel Affirms No-Coverage Ruling For Restaurants’ Losses Arising From Pandemic

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia appeals court affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by 10 restaurants and bars seeking coverage for their lost business income arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the virus did not cause a tangible change or alteration to the insureds’ property to establish “direct physical loss or damage” to trigger coverage.

  • April 23, 2024

    Maryland Beauty Salon Says IRS Owes It Payments For COVID Employee Retention Credits

    BALTIMORE — A Maryland beauty salon filed suit against the federal government seeking a refund of employee retention credits it claims it earned under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economy Security (CARES) Act because of having suffered declines in gross receipts during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with attorney fees and costs.

  • April 22, 2024

    Suquamish Tribe Opposes Insurers’ Petition for Rehearing In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    SEATTLE —The Suquamish Tribe opposed insurers’ petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its Feb. 29 opinion that affirmed a federal court’s finding that a tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a COVID-19 coverage suit involving tribal properties on tribal land, arguing that the insurers’ argument “distorts” the panel’s ruling and controlling law.

  • April 22, 2024

    Arkansas Jury Awards Walmart Supplier Over $100M In COVID Glove Deal Gone Bad

    FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — An Arkansas federal jury awarded a home goods supplier $101,218,680 against a national retail chain in the supplier’s breach of contract action alleging that the retailer reneged on a promise to purchase millions of boxes of nitrile gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic, offset by the retailer’s successful claim of tortious conduct by the supplier in the amount of $350,000 involving one of the retailer’s employees who was a central figure in the glove deal.

  • April 19, 2024

    SBA Says PPP Recipient Can’t Sue For Loan Forgiveness It Never Applied For

    MIAMI — The administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) moved a Florida federal court to dismiss the lawsuit of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan recipient seeking to force the SBA to come to a decision on the forgiveness of its loan, claiming that the loan recipient never applied for loan forgiveness.

  • April 18, 2024

    High Court Won’t Address Whether Habeas Is Proper For COVID-Related Prison Release

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari of a prison inmate seeking the review of a decision of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirming a California federal court’s ruling that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the inmate’s habeas corpus petition alleging that conditions in the prison caused by COVID-19 rendered his custody to be unlawful.

  • April 15, 2024

    Alabama Unemployment Applicants Seek Reinstatement Of Suit Over Pandemic Delays

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should reverse the Alabama Supreme Court’s judgment upholding dismissal of a lawsuit over the delays in processing the large amount of applications filed due to the coronavirus pandemic for failure to exhaust administrative remedies as the case is resolved by Patsy v. Board of Regents, unemployment benefits applicants argue in their petitioner brief.

  • April 15, 2024

    COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Scrutiny Question Won’t Be Answered By U.S. High Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 15 declined to answer a question posed by a Michigan State University (MSU) worker in putative class complaint concerning whether Jacobson v. Massachusetts requires that a governmental action such as a vaccine mandate is “subject to heightened scrutiny” and whether such a mandate by MSU failed that test.

  • April 11, 2024

    Judge: Employee Who Quit After Refusing COVID Tests Not Constructively Discharged

    MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge granted the motion of a Minnesota county to dismiss the complaint of a former county public defender alleging that she was constructively discharged from her position and resigned under duress after she refused to submit to COVID-19 testing in lieu of vaccination as the county transitioned back to an in-office working environment, finding that the former employee failed to establish that she had suffered an adverse employment action.

  • April 11, 2024

    No Disparagement Alleged, No Advertising Injury Coverage Triggered, Panel Affirms

    NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that an underlying class action lawsuit brought against the manufacturer of Wipe Out! wipes and sprays failed to allege disparagement and, therefore, its general liability insurance policy’s personal and advertising injury coverage was not triggered, affirming a federal court’s dismissal of the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying allegations that it made false and misleading claims on the labels of three of its products.

  • April 10, 2024

    9th Circuit Partly Reverses Ruling In Insurers’ Favor In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 9 held that a lower federal court properly granted insurers’ motion to dismiss all claims in a coronavirus coverage dispute that include the triggering language “direct physical loss or damage” to restaurant and hotel insureds’ properties but reversed the lower court’s denial of leave to amend a claim under the Crisis Event provision, which, the panel noted, does not include any language regarding “direct physical loss or damage.”

  • April 10, 2024

    Consent Judgment OK’d After Summary Judgment Ruling In COVID-Testing Leave Case

    GREENVILLE, Miss. — A federal judge in Mississippi approved a consent judgment between the acting secretary of Labor and a cleaning company that will provide back pay and compensatory and liquidated damages to two workers terminated while on leave from work awaiting COVID-19 test results.

  • April 09, 2024

    Insurer Seeks Rehearing In Dispute Over $1M Settlement Of Canceled Music Festival

    NEW ORLEANS — An insurer filed a petition asking the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its reversal of a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in its favor in the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying $1 million class action settlement arising from its refusal to refund ticket sales for the South by Southwest festival that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, challenging the panel’s finding that the policy’s contract and professional services exclusions do not bar coverage.

  • April 08, 2024

    Driver Appeals Grant Of Summary Judgment On UCL Claim For ‘Unfair’ COVID Premiums

    SAN FRANCISCO — A driver on April 5 appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a California federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of GEICO after finding that it did not violate California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by unfairly profiting from a premium giveback program initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • April 04, 2024

    Termination Of LTD Benefits Was Not Abuse Of Discretion, Judge Says

    ST. LOUIS — A disability plan’s termination of a claimant’s long-term disability benefits was not an abuse of discretion because the decision was reasonable based on the objective medical evidence, a Missouri federal judge said in partially granting the plan’s motion for summary judgment.

  • April 04, 2024

    United Customers Denied Class Certification In Pandemic Flight Cancellation Case

    CHICAGO — Certification of a class of United Airlines Inc. customers who sued for refunds rather than credits for travel canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic is inappropriate based on the necessary “individualized factual inquiries as to each class member’s itinerary, which could include over 200,000 such inquiries,” a federal judge in Illinois ruled in an opinion that also denied a motion to exclude expert testimony relevant to class certification and instructed parties to file a joint status report concerning a pending motion for summary judgment.