Check Out Chamber Litigation Blog
Focusing On COVID-19 Litigation
Chamber Litigation Blog
September 21, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LLP
This past week saw several major pandemic-related legal developments, with important court decisions, continued litigation against employers, new lawsuits involving high-profile celebrities, and state legislation enacted to protect businesses from COVID-19 liability.
September 18, 2020
Jonathan D. Urick, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
Some highlights of this week’s reporting and commentary on COVID-19 litigation include articles on its continuing and likely accelerating growth, a possible compromise coronavirus-relief bill, international business-interruption insurance litigation, the recent judicial decision striking down Pennsylvania’s coronavirus orders as unconstitutional, and the federal class actions against Zoom.
September 15, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman
Alston & Bird LLP
In the short holiday week, new filing action was predominantly in the government suit realm, with many more actions challenging pandemic regulations and many other government suits seeking to enforce them. A new ruling from the Seventh Circuit upheld an Illinois executive order, concluding that the order does not violate the First Amendment by providing preferential treatment to the free exercise of religion. The Sixth Circuit also let stand a Michigan law requiring that agricultural employers and housing operators test migrant workers for COVID-19 before beginning work, notwithstanding the disproportionate impact on Latinos.
September 11, 2020
Daryl Joseffer, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
This week’s reporting and commentary on COVID-19 litigation includes an especially interesting look at the precedents being set in cruise-ship cases, the role of state sovereign immunity in college coronavirus cases, too much time at home driving litigation over 401(k) fees, the leading employment-benefits cases, and, of course, Congress’s efforts to enact liability protection.
September 9, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LLP
The pace of new COVID-19-related filings slowed a bit leading up to Labor Day weekend, but there were still many noteworthy new cases.
September 3, 2020
Jonathan D. Urick, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
This week’s reporting and commentary on COVID-19 litigation focused on a possible coming wave of age- and disability-discrimination lawsuits, tuition-refund litigation, cruise-line class actions, and China’s potential response to the lawsuits against it in U.S. courts.
August 31, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LLP
This week’s new filings were dominated by a slew of suits by and against governments over mask ordinances, business regulations, price-gouging claims, and closure orders—including a creative new claim asserting that the shutdown of a “family fun center” amounted to inverse condemnation, for which the business is entitled to compensation.
August 28, 2020
Tara S. Morrissey, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
The threat of liability continues to dominate headlines in COVID-19 news and commentary. Schools and college football conferences weigh liability risks, while more states move toward liability protections. As businesses get back on their feet, a recent report shows that the pandemic is disproportionately impacting female small business owners.
August 24, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LLP
The top three developments this past week: many more challenges to regulations and government enforcement; decisions in several cases seeking insurance coverage; and a major new securities lawsuit.
August 21, 2020
Jonathan D. Urick, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
This week’s reporting and commentary on COVID-19 litigation focused on a new coronavirus relief proposal, policy and litigation trends, legal risks for employers, insurance litigation, and liability waivers.
August 17, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LLP
New cases related to COVID-19 surged last week, driven primarily by new filings against governments over pandemic-related restrictions and school reopening plans. Workplace litigation also continues to grow. And there were important developments in workplace and refund cases we’ve previously covered.
August 14, 2020
Jonathan D. Urick, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
This week’s reporting and commentary on COVID-19 litigation primarily focused on the debate over the Senate GOP’s proposed lawsuit protections, the liability risks facing reopening schools and college-sports programs, and the growing wave of business-interruption insurance litigation.
August 10, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LLP
It’s been a busy week for coronavirus-related litigation. We’re all familiar with suits arguing either that masks should be required or that they should not be required. Here’s a new one: a suit complaining about other people wearing masks. Store customers are arguing that employees violated the law by wearing masks because the masks prevented lip reading. In the meantime, employees continue to pursue failure-to-protect suits against their employers for not doing more to implement and enforce mask mandates. This legal chaos continues to strengthen the case for liability protection.
Beyond masks, this past week saw considerable litigation challenging government health measures, government actions against businesses and others to enforce those measures, an increase in Americans With Disabilities Act suits, and much more.
August 7, 2020
Jonathan D. Urick, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
COVID-19 litigation was a hot topic this week. Most of the reporting and commentary focused on the first wave of tort suits over worker deaths, debate over the Senate GOP’s proposed liability protections, and an MDL panel hearing to consider the consolidation of hundreds of business-interruption insurance lawsuits. Here’s a summary (I read the full articles so you don’t have to!) along with links.
August 3, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LLP
This week saw a noteworthy uptick in workplace-related litigation and suits against federal, state, and local governmental entities.
July 31, 2020
Daryl Joseffer, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
Reporting this week focused on the Congressional debate over federal liability protection; the potential for litigation even if legislation passes; back-to-school requests for liability waivers; BigLaw suits for rent abatement; and a court ruling against cruise ship passengers who did not contract COVID-19 but sued anyway.
July 27, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LLP
As COVID-19 infection rates in many parts of the country spiked upwards this past week, government and workplace lawsuits continued to occupy center stage. Many of these suits are now at cross-purposes, such as suits seeking to require or prevent reopenings, or to enforce or impede mask mandates.
July 24, 2020
Jonathan D. Urick, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
This week’s reporting and commentary on COVID-19 litigation primarily focused on the debate over federal liability protections: the highlights of the Senate GOP’s proposal (expected to be released next week), the Democrats’ alternative proposal, a possible compromise, and a letter from 21 state governors urging Congress to act. Other interesting articles took a closer look at state liability protections, liability waivers for independent contractors, and the CFPB’s latest enforcement priorities amid the pandemic.
July 20, 2020
Jason A. Levine, Peter E. Masaitis, Alex Akerman, Gillian H. Clow, Debolina Das, and Kaelyne Wietelman, Alston & Bird LPP
After a brief slowdown around July Fourth, the COVID-19 litigation machine has cranked back into high gear, with a number of important opinions, a high-profile retreat by the federal government, and scores of new filings.
July 17, 2020
Jonathan D. Urick, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
This week’s reporting and commentary on COVID-19 litigation focused on forthcoming proposals in Congress for liability protections, the limits of existing federal and state lawsuit shields, undeterred plaintiffs’ attorneys pursuing litigation and advertising despite such protections, the surge in workplace class-actions, and the debate over masks.