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Breaking News and Announcements

Breaking News and Announcements

22 February 2023 / Case law
USA – State Supreme Court: Still relevant to determine whether the executive had the power to enact COVID-related measures although they have now lapsed
In March 2020 the Governor of Minnesota declared a peacetime emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic under the Minnesota Emergency Management Act, according to which the Governor may declare a peacetime emergency “only when an act of nature, a technological failure or malfunction, a terrorist incident, an industrial accident, a hazardous materials accident, or a civil disturbance endangers life and property and local government resources are inadequate to handle the situation”.
22 February 2023 / Case law
Belgium - Constitutional Court validates most pandemic health measures but orders Flemish Community to revise legislation
On 16 February 2023, the Constitutional Court mostly validated the constitutionality of the several health measures taken during the pandemic by different levels of government but declared a measure adopted by the Flemish Community unconstitutional.
17 February 2023 / Case law
Italy – Constitutional Court: employers owe no alimony to employees who refuse to vaccinate
In judgment 15/2023 issued on 9 February 2023 together with other two judgments, the Constitutional Court has held that no alimony is owed by the employer to the employee when the latter, subject to the obligation to vaccinate, decides not to vaccinate and is temporarily suspended from its employment contract.
17 February 2023 / Case law
Malaysia - Court of appeal upholds lower court’s leave to hear a case challenging the government vaccination program
A bench of the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Shah Alam High Court which granted leave to hear a case filed by staff and teachers of the Universiti Malaya challenging the government’s vaccination program against COVID-19.
17 February 2023 / Case law
United Kingdom – Welsh coroner finds two nurses’ death due to COVID-19 was industrial disease
On 3 February 2023, a senior coroner in Wales found that the deaths of two nurses aged 63 and 65 due to COVID-19 should be a considered as industrial disease. The coroner found that both nurses had likely caught the virus at their respective hospitals. Although they were given appropriate personal protective equipment, they were still exposed to the virus while working and became infected, causing their deaths.
15 February 2023 / Case law
USA – Federal appeal Court states COVID-19-like symptoms entitled employees to apply for unpaid leave even at the onset of the pandemic
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lawyer employed in a law firm asked her employer for a leave to stay at home on account of her son showing symptoms resembling COVID-19 based on the limited knowledge of the virus at that time (a cough, runny nose, and gastrointestinal issues).
15 February 2023 / Case law
Singapore – Former nurse wins appeal on payment of child maintenance after being left disabled and unemployed by COVID-19 vaccine
A former nurse who suffered an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine won an appeal against a court’s decision which ordered her to pay 1,500 Singapore Dollars for the maintenance of her two children after divorcing her husband.
15 February 2023 / Case law
Spain – Supreme Court confirms legality of Cantabrian government closure of hospitality sector
On 7 February 2023, the Spanish Supreme Court has quashed a decision by the High Court of Justice of Cantabria that had annulled the Cantabrian government’s decision to close hospitality businesses’ interiors in November 2020.
13 February 2023 / Case law
USA – COVID-related order prohibiting non-residents property owners from accessing a county and using their vacation house was constitutional, Federal Appeal Court holds
In March 2020, Dare County Boards of Commissioners passed a number of COVID-related regulations aimed at limiting the spread of the virus. One of these measures prohibited non-resident property owners from entering the county. Non-resident owners were given four days to travel to the county and reach their houses; the restriction lasted for 45 days.
13 February 2023 / Case law
Argentina – Court refuses to hear action for damages brought against China for the spread of COVID-19
The Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina upheld the first and second instance decisions that declared the lack of jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit brought against the People’s Republic of China by a foundation for the alleged damages suffered by Argentinian due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
13 February 2023 / Case law
Italy – Constitutional Court upholds law mandating vaccination for healthcare professionals
The Italian Constitutional Court, with three parallel judgements published on 9 February 2023, has rejected the claims of unconstitutionality referred by several administrative courts concerning the law on healthcare personnel vaccination.
10 February 2023 / Case law
United Kingdom – Air passenger awarded refund for flight that was not cancelled
The small claims court at the Gloucester and Cheltenham County Court awarded an air passenger £429 after arguing that he should have been refunded for a flight he did not take due to government advice against non-essential travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight was scheduled on 30 July 2020, during the first months of the pandemic. The claimant was 65 years old.
10 February 2023 / Case law
India – Supreme Court rejects plea challenging a Court’s order demanding private university to charge half the rent for hostels during the pandemic
On 20 January 2023, the Supreme Court of India rejected a plea from a private university which sought to challenge a lower Court’s order concerning the charging of hostel rent to students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana had pointed out that, since the school, during the pandemic, had charged 25% of the price for contractors of services such as canteens, shops, etc., charging the full price for hostels to students was unjustified.
8 February 2023 / Case law
USA – State Court declares vaccine mandate for healthcare facilities and their workers null and void
During the early stages of the pandemic, the New York State Legislature ceded powers to the then Governor on an emergency basis. On 24 June 2021, the Governor rescinded his previous COVID-related emergency orders, thus ending the emergency resulting from the pandemic. Nonetheless, on 22 June 2022 the Commissioner of Health adopted as a permanent regulation a COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare facilities and their workers.
8 February 2023 / Case law
India – High Court allows foreign national to leave country without penalty after overstay caused by the pandemic
The High Court of Madras directed the authorities to allow a UK national whose travel documents had expired to return to his country without penalties for overstay. In doing so, the court considered a submission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that the man could apply for an exit visa without any penalty.
8 February 2023 / Case law
France – Hunters federation to be compensated by the state due to illegal hunting restrictions during the pandemic
On 31 January 2023, the Administrative Tribunal of Bastia (Corsica) annulled a decree by the authorities in Haute-Corse limiting the practice of hunting within a twenty-kilometer radius of a person’s home for a period of three hours. The state will also have to pay €3,000 to the departmental federation of hunters in Haute-Corse.
6 February 2023 / Case law
USA – Federal court enjoins California from enforcing bill punishing doctors for COVID-19 misinformation
In 2022, California passed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2098, a statute providing that “it shall constitute unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to disseminate misinformation or disinformation related to covid-19, including false or misleading information regarding the nature and risks of the virus, its prevention and treatment and the development, safety and effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines”.
6 February 2023 / Case law
India – High Court states that COVID first line treatment centers are to be considered as hospital for insurance purposes
In January 2023, the Kerala High Court stated that COVID first line treatment centers must be regarded as hospital for the purposes of insurance coverage.
6 February 2023 / Case law
Chile – Constitutional Court orders pharmaceutical company to disclose information regarding the composition of COVID-19 vaccines
On 9 November 2021, a Chilean woman requested the Undersecretariat of Public Health copy of the vaccines' patents, the details of each of their components, information on their origin and common uses, their usual uses, as well as what function they fulfill in the formula of each of the vaccines. The claimant also asked whether there had been any changes in the composition of each of the vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 that have been used in Chile and the information on each component.
3 February 2023 / Case law
USA – Settlement reached in suit relating to fees paid by restaurants during COVID-related closures
In January 2021, the owner of a restaurant filed with the Superior Court of California a class action seeking refunds for the fees, taxes, and/or charges (and any penalty fees) levied by the County and State entities against them during the period when they were forced to close or to severely limit their business activities on account of COVID-related executive orders.
3 February 2023 / Case law
Kenya – High Court orders resume of charges on transfer between bank accounts and mobile money operators, previously suspended due to COVID-19
On 23 January 2023 the Kenyan High Court ruled that commercial banks could resume charging transfers from bank accounts to mobile money operators. The charges had been suspended in 2020 when, due to the pandemic, the Central Bank of Kenya decided to set favorable conditions for the promotion of cashless and online payment methods, at a time when business were under lockdown.
1 February 2023 / Case law
India – Delhi High Court grants teacher permission to work without vaccinating
On 18 January 2023 the High Court of Delhi supported the claim of a secondary school teacher challenging the school’s request to get vaccinated before being allowed to teach. The court noted that the personal autonomy of any individual includes the right to refuse medical treatments and, therefore, the right to refuse vaccination.
1 February 2023 / Case law
Spain – Barcelona court confirms non-liability of airline during pandemic
On 4 October 2022 (recently published), the Commercial Court n°8 of Barcelona held that an airline was not liable for compensation for a flight cancellation during the pandemic.
1 February 2023 / Case law
USA – Federal court holds that federal government must enjoin from enforcing vaccine mandate for federal contractors
As part of his efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden issued a series of vaccine mandates. The Supreme Court of the United States has already enjoined the federal government from enforcing the OSHA-issued mandate for large employers but has upheld the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers (see the relevant stories published on 15 January 2022 and 21 January 2022 respectively).
30 January 2023 / Case law
Switzerland – Doctor fined for not complying with health measures during pandemic
In a case reported on 23 January 2023, the Hochdorf District Court confirmed a fine of 1000 francs to a general practitioner in Lucerne who violated the law on epidemics during the COVID-19 pandemic.
30 January 2023 / Case law
Japan – Lower court dismisses lawsuit claiming compensation for COVID-related reputational damage
On 25 January 2023, the Tokushima District Court dismissed a restaurant’s lawsuit asking compensation for reputational damage caused by public authorities when, in July 2020, they made it known to the public that a person, later confirmed as a COVID case, had entered into the premises. The plaintiff claimed that the name of the restaurant was made known without consent and that the spread of the news had damaged its reputation.
30 January 2023 / Case law
Peru – The broad extension of procedural time limits under emergency rules cannot apply to the statute of limitations of crimes, Constitutional Court holds
On 19 January 2021, a man was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for the offence of tax fraud. Following this decision, he filed a habeas corpus application, alleging the violation of his rights to effective procedural protection, due process, reasonable time, due motivation of judicial decisions, judicial impartiality, and the principle of legal certainty.
27 January 2023 / Case law
India – Kin of health workers dead during the pandemic cannot claim double compensation from the state and from the Union government
The Madras High Court ruled that kin of health workers deceased during the pandemic and eligible for compensation cannot claim double payments, relying on both schemes provided by the state government and schemes provided by the central government.
27 January 2023 / Case law
USA – COVID-related economic losses do not per se absolve buyers from contractual payment obligations, state Supreme Court holds
In 2015, a company and other co-obligors purchased a cleaning franchise. Pursuant to the relevant asset purchase agreement, a portion of the franchise purchase price was to be paid in monthly installments from September 2018 to May 2022 and with a final balloon payment in May 2022. Under the contract, failure to pay any of the installments would have triggered the seller’s option to demand immediate payment of all outstanding sums.
25 January 2023 / Case law
Bangladesh – Preacher convicted for spreading false information about COVID-19 in his sermons
A preacher was convicted by a Bangladeshi court after being arrested in 2021 for spreading false information about COVID-19.
25 January 2023 / Case law
USA – COVID-related measures merely limiting business operations do not completely frustrate the purpose of commercial lease contracts, State Court states
On 5 March 2020, the Governor of Maryland issued an executive order requiring that pubs and restaurants close by 5pm. Such businesses were permitted to sell their products for carry-out, drive-through, or delivery if they complied with the social distancing measures in force at that time.
25 January 2023 / Case law
Germany – Doctor imprisoned for issuing fake mask exemptions
On 2 January 2023, a German doctor was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for illegally issuing over 4,000 people with exemptions from wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
23 January 2023 / Case law
New Zealand – A parent’s decision refusing a baby’s blood transfusion with blood from vaccinated donors is not in the child’s best interest
Health New Zealand applied to the High Court for an order that a 6-month-old baby be placed under the guardianship of the Court for the purpose of consenting to surgery and blood transfusion. In particular, the plaintiff submitted that the baby has a severe obstruction to the right ventricle, causing increased thickening.
23 January 2023 / Case law
India – Court orders that school fees paid during the pandemic be adjusted or refunded
On 16 January 2023, the Allahabad High Court ordered private schools to adjust or refund 15% of the fees paid by families during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021).
23 January 2023 / Case law
Spain – Court orders rehire of employee who had refused to vaccinate, plus moral damages
On 14 November 2022, the High Court of Justice of Galicia has declared the nullity of a dismissal of an employee who was removed from his duties for not wanting to vaccinate against COVID-19. The judgment was recently published.
20 January 2023 / Case law
Germany – Court allows vaccination of teenager despite mother’s opposition
On 12 December 2022, the Zweibrücken Higher Regional Court in Germany has ruled that a 15-year-old girl has the right to decide about her own health and be vaccinated against the coronavirus, despite her mother’s opposition.

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