Two Carolina Courts Reject COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims
8/29/22
By: Shawn Bingham
South Carolina’s Supreme Court became the latest high court to side with an insurer in a Covid-19 business interruption case, adopting the majority approach to interpreting “physical loss or damage” in the typical commercial property policy. On …
California Court of Appeal rules in favor of policyholder in COVID business interruption case
8/25/22
By: Shawn Bingham and Amanda Figueroa
Recently, the California Court of Appeals, Second District, became only the second appellate court in the country—state or federal—to rule favor of a policyholder on a Covid-19 business interruption claim by holding that the …
EEOC Updates COVID-19 Workplace Testing Rules: What Employers Need to Know
8/9/22
By: Tia Combs
On July 12, 2022, the EEOC updated its “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws: Technical Assistance Questions and Answers” by updating its guidance on when employers can …
Maine Healthcare Workers Challenging Vaccine Mandate Cannot Proceed Under Pseudonyms
8/8/22
By: Maria Alexander and Tara Sheldon
The healthcare workers challenging the constitutionality of Maine’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate can no longer litigate their claims anonymously after the First Circuit Court of Appeals found that they failed to demonstrate a reasonable fear …
6/6/22
By: Edward Storck
Recently, the Connecticut Supreme Court examined the rights of a restaurant owner tenant who had withheld payment of rent citing the executive orders dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic as the cause for their inability to pay rent. …
Eleventh Circuit Finds for Insurer in COVID-19 Case of First Impression in Georgia
6/6/22
FMG partners Phil Savrin and Shawn Bingham successfully represented Allied Insurance Company of America (a Nationwide entity) in resisting a claim by a restaurant (Henry’s Louisiana Grill) seeking coverage for business income lost after it suspended its operations after the …
Employer alert: CDC updates mask and quarantine guidelines
1/3/22
By: Diandra Franks and R. Victoria Fuller
On December 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) once again updated its mask and quarantine guidelines. In this most recent update, the CDC shortened its recommended isolation and quarantine periods for the general public. These new …
9/9/21
By: R. Victoria Fuller & Diandra Franks
In Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc. v. Margarita Melendez, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) recently held that its 2020 COVID-19 statute of limitations tolling order tolled the statute of limitations for all civil actions, not just those actions for …
9/8/21
In Blue Devil LLC v. Ace Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., No. 1:20-cv-12480, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166886, (D.N.J. Sep. 2, 2021), plaintiffs, comprised of seven related LLCs, brought seven breach of contract claims (one …
6/4/21
By: Wayne Melnick and Carlos Fernandez
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the roll of most, if not all, cases. Now that the brakes are being slowly eased-off, questions are arising about the Georgia Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders that extended the statute …
6/3/21
By: John Bennett and Doug Blatecky
Although many businesses have not mandated that their employees get a COVID-19 vaccine, the EEOC’s recently released guidance confirms that federal equal employment opportunity laws do not prevent an employer from requiring employees physically …
Two Lawsuits Test the Permissibility of Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policies in Employment
5/11/21
By: Michael Hirota
As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely available within the United States, many employers are grappling with how to incorporate employee vaccination into their return-to-work requirements. Two recent lawsuits in New Mexico and California challenging mandatory vaccination …