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href=”https://www.law360.com/illinois/articles/1375540/#”Celeste Bott
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Law360 (April 15, 2021, 7:51 PM EDT) —
Walmart has allegedly refused to pay for more than $15 million worth of orders of hand sanitizer, 19 attorneys general say a lawsuit alleging Tyson Foods mishandled a COVID-19 outbreak at an Iowa plant belongs in state court, and Apple wants to escape claims it suppressed competition by refusing to offer a developer’s virus-tracking app in its App Store.
While courts across the country are altering procedures, restricting access and postponing certain cases to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the outbreak has also prompted a wave of litigation across the country.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the COVID-19-related cases from the past week.
Hospitality
Princess Cruise Lines passengers have asked a California federal court to deny Carnival Corp.’s bid to ax their demand for a jury trial in their suit claiming the companies let passengers board a ship even though they knew people on a previous voyage had COVID-19 symptoms.
The passengers on Monday opposed Carnival’s argument that they are not entitled to a jury trial because admiralty is the only basis in their suit for federal jurisdiction. They countered that the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees their right to a jury trial in common law matters, that they have brought common law claims with a diversity of citizenship, and that maritime law doesn’t expressly forbid a trial by jury.
And a National Labor Relations Board regional office has hit Red Rock Resorts Inc., Station Holdco LLC and Station Casinos LLC with a complaint claiming they took unilateral actions during the COVID-19 pandemic to undermine unions.
Region 28 said in its press release Tuesday that the complaint alleges Station Casinos laid off and fired employees, got rid of their recall rights and benefits, and implemented new health and safety standards without bargaining with their unions both during and after Nevada’s shut down of gaming establishments.
The complaint, which also mentions 10 affiliated casino hotels in Las Vegas, says that the actions were executed “in a selective and discriminatory manner that was calculated to dilute union support among their employees,” the release said. Further, Station Casinos suggested to workers that the unions dropped the ball on representing them when they weren’t timely told about changes or given the chance to bargain over them, the complaint claims.
Public Policy
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin in a split ruling Wednesday said Democratic Gov. Tony Evers did not have the authority to set capacity limits on bars and restaurants to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, saying his emergency order in October is unenforceable because the Legislature didn’t approve it.
Evers, along with former Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm, erred when issuing Emergency Order 3, which limited the size of indoor public gatherings to 25% of a facility’s permitted capacity or to 10 people in venues without an occupancy limit, according to the 4-3 ruling from the conservative-controlled court.
Chief Justice Patience D. Roggensack wrote the opinion saying that Evers’ order — issued when coronavirus cases were spiking around the state — wasn’t validly enacted because it meets…
Read More: Coronavirus Litigation: The Week In Review