PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Plans for a lawsuit against a Maine venue that hosted what became a ‘superspreader’ wedding reception underscore small business liability risks amid the coronavirus pandemic and heavy pressure from Republicans in Congress to to give such outfits legal immunity.
Behemoths like Walmart and Tyson Foods, which have been the target of COVID-19-related lawsuits, can largely absorb any losses. But across the country, hundreds of negligence lawsuits have been filed, with Mom and Dad most fearful of a lawsuit that could undermine them.
“They could end up losing, even if they win a lawsuit,” said David Clough, of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, because expensive lawsuits can bankrupt small businesses that don’t have a large wallets.
For the family-owned Big Moose Inn in Millinocket, Maine, it’s not a theoretical problem. The estates of at least three nursing home residents whose deaths were linked to a wedding reception there in August are planning to sue the inn and the nursing home, the family’s attorney, Timothy Kenlan, said.
The wedding and reception led to outbreaks that infected at least 180 people and caused at least eight deaths, state officials said. Seven of those who died were residents of the Maplecrest nursing home in Madison, Maine, whose attorney declined to comment.
A notice of claim indicates the inn will be seeking damages for organizing an event that Kenlan claims violated state security protocols during a pandemic.
“What stands out here is the blatant behavior. They put profit before people, ”said Kenlan. “They ignored the rules.”
Paul Brown, Big Moose Inn’s attorney, said there is no way to prove that the wedding reception was the source of infections. There were several other events, including a lake jaunt and the wedding itself at a nearby church that were just as much the source of infections, he said.
The number of reception guests at the inn exceeded the state line of 50 people, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said. But Brown claims the company tried to follow the rules by dividing the reception into two groups of less than 50, so there was no violation, he said.
During the reception, signs warned guests to wear masks and keep their distance, but there was no mandate to enforce those rules at the time.
A national lawsuit tracker by Hunton Andrews Kurth indicates that there have been more than 6,000 complaints about the coronavirus across the country.
Many relate to attacks on pandemic restrictions, while others target banks and insurance companies, and there are also thousands more workers’ compensation claims, said Alexandra Cunningham of the Richmond, Virginia law firm.
But a much smaller number – about 270 individual lawsuits – concern wrongful death, personal injury or workplace safety claims, mostly targeting cruise ships, meat processing companies and other businesses, including nursing homes, she said.
The lawsuits usually focus on the most egregious cases.
A lawsuit against a Tyson Foods factory in Iowa said workers lacked masks and were forced to work closely together, while managers bet on how many workers would be infected during a coronavirus outbreak. Tyson investigated the lawsuit and fired seven managers.
Walmart is the subject of a wrongful death sentence after an employee died of COVID-19 complications in March. A class action lawsuit focuses on McDonald’s. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit on behalf of workers at meat-packing pants in Nebraska. And a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by Amazon warehouse employees.
“While there are very few cases, those cases are really important because they represent critical cases of occupational safety,” said Julia Duncan of the American Association for Justice, who represents trial attorneys.
Those big companies can stand a lawsuit better than small companies like the Big Moose Inn, for whom legal fees and damages can be crippling.
Republican efforts to protect corporations from legal liability were a sticking point in Congress over a pandemic relief package of more than $ 900 billion.
Many Democrats object to a liability shield and say the Trump administration has already given companies the upper hand on security issues by relaxing workers’ protections.
The liability issue has been set aside for now, but will return in the new year, and state lawmakers are likely to weigh in too, said Clough, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, which represents nearly 3,000 small, independent businesses. companies in Maine.
Before setting aside the liability issue, the discussion focused on corporate immunity, except in cases of “gross negligence”, something litigants criticize as a fancy way to cover full liability from virus lawsuits. There have not been enough lawsuits to warrant special protections, trial lawyers say.
While the specter of lawsuits worries business owners, it can be difficult for plaintiffs to prove they contracted the virus at a specific institution, or to prove negligence, as rules and safety guidelines have evolved. For example, masks were not initially recommended; now they are recommended and sometimes made mandatory.
Lawsuits require a plaintiff to prove both harm and negligence – that an entity has not protected someone from a reasonably foreseeable event, said Jim Burke, professor emeritus at the University of Maine School of Law.
Proving where someone contracted the virus is central to winning a lawsuit, and it was difficult even before the latest wave of the virus, Burke said. “As the spread of the community widens, it will become more difficult to prove causation,” he said.
For the Big Moose Inn, the attorney is of the opinion that some form of liability protection is justified.
“If a company meets the requirements, does its best, does its best to keep employees and guests safe, then there must be a liability shield,” said Brown. “If they work hard and try their best, they shouldn’t be punished for something they really have no control over.”
Many attorneys are likely waiting to see how lawsuits like the one against Big Moose Inn are expected to unfold, Cunningham said.
The statute of limitations for such negligence claims is generally two to three years, she said.