37 results for 'cat:"Government" AND cat:"Covid-19"'.
J. Brennan grants the federal government's motion to dismiss, ruling the restaurants lack standing to challenge the Small Business Administration's refusal to prosecute fraudulent recipients of Covid-19 relief funds. The relevant legislation does not require such enforcement measures. Additionally, the restaurants' claims have been mooted by the expiration of the grant period, such that even if the court were to grant them relief and require disbursement of grants, the businesses would be required to immediately return the funds to the federal government.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv2361, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, government, covid-19
J. Kautz finds that the lower court improperly dismissed claims against the Laramie City Council from a resident who says the council violated the Wyoming Public Meetings Act by holding meetings remotely during Covid-19. The lower court tossed the suit on the grounds that the resident inexcusably delayed his claims that stemmed from activity back in May 2020, but the lower court did not follow the proper procedure for taking judicial notice and its findings were too conclusory. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Kautz, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: S-23-0149, Categories: government, covid-19
J. Loken finds a lower court properly denied a citizen of India's motion for religious and political asylum. The citizen of India argued that he would face persecution in his native land at the hands of a ruling party. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he consistently requested further continuances based on the Covid-19 pandemic shut down, and failed to present new evidence to support his claims. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 23-2289, Categories: Civil Rights, government, covid-19
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Joseph grants summary judgment to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the U.S. Small Business Administration, finding the federal agency correctly determined an oil field service company was ineligible for a pandemic-program business loan it received in the amount of $2.5 million. The SBA correctly determined the business qualified for a maximum loan forgiveness amount of $687,000, and its decision was not arbitrary and capricious. The company’s interpretation of the law would require an erroneous finding the federal loan program would allow “double dipping,” or permitting small businesses and their contractors to count the same amounts twice to obtain multiple loans.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Joseph, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 6:22cv6229, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: government, Business Expectancy, covid-19
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly ruled that the Electronic Fund Transfer Act did not protect a prepaid debit card. The self-employed mechanic applied for and received unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic that the government distributed via prepaid debit cards. After a prolonged period, the mechanic received his card, but the card had a zero balance, and the entire $14,644 had been spent between August and October on transactions he did not recognize. The mechanic sued the bank, asserting its conduct and error-claim procedures violated the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act and various state law obligations. The Act does protect the account because it is a government benefit account under the controlling regulations. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 22-1954, Categories: government, Banking / Lending, covid-19
J. Doughty grants a request by presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a preliminary injunction barring the Biden Administration from violating the candidate’s constitutional right to free speech by discouraging social media platforms from publishing his anti-Covid-19 vaccine messages. Kennedy and other litigants have produced evidence of “a massive effort by the White House to federal agencies, to suppress speech based on its content.” The administration argues it was trying to protect the public health by discouraging Kennedy and others from spreading disinformation.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Doughty, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv381, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, government, covid-19
[Consolidated.] J. Mcilmail finds the contractor is entitled to the cost of increased Covid-19-related medical leave occurring during performance of its contract for airport maintenance services at a naval air station. The contractor experienced an increase in applicable fringe benefits in the form of increased paid time off required under California law related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Navy’s 14-day quarantine policy.
Court: Armed Services Board Of Contract Appeals, Judge: Mcilmail, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 63250, Categories: government, covid-19, Contract
J. Alston grants the government's motion to dismiss. The government employee tried for the third time, after being dismissed in two identical cases, to sue the government for mandating all federal employees become fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but his claims are barred by res judicata.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Virginia, Judge: Alston, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv671, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: government, covid-19, Employment Discrimination
J. Kamins finds the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission properly cancelled petitioner’s liquor license after petitioner was charged with violations of Governor Kate Brown’s executive order by permitting indoor dining at its restaurant during a time when indoor restaurant dining was prohibited in Lane County as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The challenged OHS guidance does not lack validity because it was not incorporated in the text of EO 20-66, was not separately filed with the Secretary of State, and was not adopted by OHA as an administrative rule.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Kamins, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: A178679, Categories: government, covid-19
J. Bryan dismisses the employees' federal claims accusing the healthcare company of voluntarily agreeing to participate in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 vaccination program and then wrongfully firing the employees if they refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine. The employees do not show that the healthcare company's policy enforcement was a public function, as it was not "both traditionally and exclusively governmental," that it constituted a joint action, that it was the result of governmental coercion or that it violated the employees' constitutional rights.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Bryan, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv5741, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, government, covid-19
J. Stras finds a lower court partly improperly dismissed the Missouri Attorney General's Missouri's Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act claims against the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government argued that it is not responsible for the global spread of Covid-19. However, the attorney general presented sufficient evidence in court that the country "hoarded personal-protective equipment while the rest of the world was in the dark about the disease." Reversed in part.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Stras, Filed On: January 11, 2024, Case #: 22-2495, Categories: government, Negligence, covid-19
Per curiam, the Texas Supreme Court rules as moot an appeal brought by Gov. Greg Abbott following a dispute with the school district over the enforceability of mask mandates. Since the emergence of this dispute, an executive order made by Abbott banning mask mandates from governmental entities has expired. There is no live controversy between the parties.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 27, 2023, Case #: 22-0775, Categories: government, covid-19
Per curiam, the Texas Supreme Court rules as moot an appeal brought by Gov. Greg Abbott following a dispute with the City of El Paso over the enforceability of mask mandates. Since the emergence of this dispute, an executive order made by Abbott banning mask mandates from governmental entities has expired. There is no live controversy between the parties.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 27, 2023, Case #: 23-0288, Categories: government, covid-19
J. Vargas finds petitioners are entitled to a writ of mandamus to prevent further distribution of federal funds by the governor under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. Despite previous rulings regarding allocation of federal funds, no bright-line rule establishes whether such money falls under control of the executive or legislative branches; rather, this court must determine on a case-by-case basis whether specific funds are under the purview of the governor or the legislature. In this case, the broad discretion left to states in administering distribution of federal funds included in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act requires the money be placed under the control of the legislature, as the governor would be unable to distribute the funds without infringing on the legislative branch's "constitutional duty to appropriate."
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Vargas, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-38996, Categories: Constitution, government, covid-19
J. Gonzalez finds that the lower courts properly upheld the legality of Washington state's moratorium on evicting people from their homes due to unpaid rent as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. State law gives the governor enhanced authority during emergencies such as the Covid-19 crisis, and his move to suspend evictions fell well within his "statutory and constitutional authority" that was expanded upon during the pandemic. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Supreme Court, Judge: Gonzalez , Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 100992-5 , Categories: government, Landlord Tenant, covid-19
J. Wood finds the Board of Review properly required the unemployment benefits recipient to repay $972 in overpaid state benefits received along with federal pandemic assistance. The overpayment was not received as a direct result of an error by the Division of Workforce Services, and there is substantial evidence to support the Board’s findings. However, the Board failed to make any findings regarding the two prongs of the pandemic assistance waiver analysis, and this part of the appeal is remanded. Another amount was not appealed to the Tribunal and the order for repayment is vacated. Affirmed in part.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: E-22-346, Categories: Employment, government, covid-19
J. Bush finds the lower court properly dismissed First Amendment claims made by suspended Twitter users, as they failed to establish traceability between several statements by the federal government and the social media platform's decision to suspended their accounts for spreading Covid-19 misinformation. Twitter established its Covid-19 policy well before any statements by the press secretary or surgeon general, and because any claims of "behind-the-scenes" coercion by the federal government are conclusory at best, the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Bush, Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 22-3573, Categories: government, covid-19, First Amendment
J. Hendrix denies, in part, the Army's motion to dismiss claims by military members who suffered adverse action when they refused to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. Due to the government's rescission of the Army's vaccine mandate, only claims filed by the military member who remains separated due to his refusal to vaccinate are not moot.
Court: USDC Northern District of Texas , Judge: Hendrix, Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv49, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: government, covid-19, Military
J. Wood finds the governor and other political entities are not entitled to sovereign immunity on due process and constitutional claims brought by bar owners for forced closures during the Covid-19 pandemic. The owners were not required to seek injunctive relief in their initial filings and could request damages without violating the previously upheld mandate to seek the least intrusive remedy available. Meanwhile, the complaint clearly implicates the bar owners' right to earn a living under the North Carlina Constitution and so the lower court properly denied the governor's motion to dismiss. Affirmed.
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: Wood, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: COA22-571, Categories: government, Immunity, covid-19
J. Baker finds that the trial court properly ruled against an organization challenging the Austin Independent School District's face-covering mandate and quarantine policy that was implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic. The policy implemented by the school district is not a statute, ordinance or contract; therefore, the district's governmental immunity is not waived by the organization's challenge. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Baker, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: 03-21-00681-CV, Categories: government, Immunity, covid-19
J. Cook finds that the lower court properly ruled that an inmate’s due process rights were not violated when her parole hearing was not held in person. Gov. Ivey's emergency proclamation during the Covid-19 pandemic, which allowed the parole board to hold parole hearings remotely, did not violate Alabama law. Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Supreme Court, Judge: Cook, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: SC-2022-0538, Categories: government, Due Process, covid-19
J. Treadwell grants the government's motion to dismiss the companies' action under the Administrative Procedures Act alleging that the government failed to fund their applications for relief under the Restaurant Revitalization Fund because their owner was a woman. The government stopped processing applications it originally prioritized for claims by women, veterans and disadvantaged people after two lawsuits challenged the constitutionality of the practice. The fund has no money remaining for new awards and expired in March 2023, therefore the companies' requested relief is moot.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Treadwell, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv221, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Administrative Law, government, covid-19
J. Larkin affirms the district court's dismissal of a petition for a writ of quo warranto preventing enforcement of emergency orders promulgated by the governor during a peacetime emergency triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The peacetime emergency was authorized by the Emergency Management Act of 1996. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Larkin, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: A21-0626, Categories: government, covid-19
[Consolidated.] J. Duncan dismisses this appeal brought on religious grounds by Navy SEALs who seek to enjoin the Navy from requiring vaccination for Covid-19. During the pendency of the appeal, President Biden signed a statute into law directing the Secretary of Defense to rescind the vaccine mandate. The appeal is dismissed as moot and remanded for further proceedings.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Duncan, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 22-10077, Categories: government, covid-19, Military