The recent dismissal of COVID-19 claims against a cruise line could make similar cases alleging emotional distress unlikely to prevail, and sends a message the courts should be used for those who have been justly harmed, a civil justice advocate said.
“This is a good decision – the liability would be explosive if everyone could file a suit claiming they were exposed to COVID-19 and fear contracting the disease, even though they did not become infected,” Maryann Marino, regional director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) said in an email response to the Northern California Record. “It would encourage lawsuit abuse because employers/business would have a hard time refuting the claims and be forced into settling cases just to make them go away, costing jobs and forcing businesses to close.”
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of negligence suits have been filed. Weissberger et al. v. Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd., which consolidated 14 passenger cases, is among the first to be dismissed. Federal judge Gary Klausner of the Central District of California wrote that plaintiffs cannot recover damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress based on only proximity to the virus and concern over catching it.
“Indeed, given the prevalence of COVID-19 in today’s world, Plaintiffs’ proposed rule would lead to a flood of trivial suits, and open the door to unlimited and unpredictable liability,” the judge wrote in his July 14 ruling on the defendant’s consolidated motion to dismiss.
The impact of the decision goes beyond the courtroom, Marino said.
“Our business owners need to operate with certainty that the business they created 20 years ago or two years ago will still be in business and not have to face unwarranted types of suits based on fear rather than real merit,” Marino said.
Even when suits are dismissed, the expense of litigation drives up costs for businesses.
“We hope legislatures and governors across the country enact legislation that would protect business owners from unwarranted types of COVD-19 lawsuits, especially if they acted in good faith and enacted all the guidelines from the CDC,” Marino said.
Legislation to provide liability protections during the COVID-19 pandemic is being considered at the state and federal level.
“Here in California, the business community is urging the Governor to ask the Legislature to send a bill for his signature that grants legal protections to essential businesses that have answered the call and remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide groceries, medicine, medical and hardware supplies, transportation, and other services,” Marino said. “They’ve stayed open so that Californians can have what they need during the safer-at-home directive.”