Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani San Diego Partner Danielle K. Little, working with additional outside co-defense counsel, successfully obtained a complete dismissal on behalf of two clients, a managed care network and an ophthalmologist, in a case before the Los Angeles Superior Court.
The plaintiff alleged that the medical network and its physician required him to wear a mask during the COVID pandemic and asserted claims under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Disabled Persons Act, and other claims. The plaintiff’s medical treatment occurred at a time when mask mandates were in effect pursuant to California state and Los Angeles County COVID protection mandates, the Federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (the “Prep Act”), and a Declaration issued by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services regarding COVID-19.
The plaintiff alleged that his deviated septum was a “disability” that exempted him from wearing a mask despite these binding local, state, and federal mask mandates. He alleges he eventually wore the mask and suffered emotional injuries. GRSM argued, among other defenses, that the clients were immune from suit under the federal Prep Act which barred his state causes of action. The Court granted the clients’ Motion for Judgment on Pleadings without leave to amend and entered judgment in their favor.
This dismissal serves as a powerful testament to the importance of critically evaluating the pleadings at the outset of the case, carefully assessing complex federal regulations, and understanding the interplay between state and federal statutes on these claims, which, in this case, obviated unnecessary and protracted litigation.
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