Arizona lawmakers closer to COVID-19 lawsuit protections for businesses
(The Center Square) – A measure working its way through the Arizona Legislature, if enacted, would grant people, businesses, hospitals and local governments partial immunity from pandemic-related litigation.
Senate Bill 1377 passed muster in the Senate Rules Committee Monday along party lines. It also made its way out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in kind last week.
It would require anyone seeking pandemic-related damages in court to prove the “provider” can provide clear and convincing evidence that they were purposefully negligent. It’s seen as a higher bar for a plaintiff to prove than in other civil tort lawsuits.
It would be retroactive to March 11, 2020. That’s when Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared an emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sen. Vince Leach, R-Saddlebrooke, said the change was necessary to protect against reckless lawsuits.
“Unfortunately, there will always be people who will try to take advantage of the situation and file reckless lawsuits,” he said. “I hope this legislation will give people the assurance that if they’re following health and safety precautions, they won’t be hit with a nuisance lawsuit.”
Pandemic liability protection is highly sought after by businesses and health care providers in many states due to trial lawyers seeking to pin costly liability suits against companies for their plaintiffs contracting COVID-19 on the job, at a medical visit, or even patronizing a business.
The Arizona Trial Attorneys Association opposes the bill, saying it would raise the bar too high for litigating earnest wrongful harm lawsuits.
Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Phoenix, brought that issue up.
“Isn’t it making it impossible for a person to seek redress in the courts for an injury that is suffered in pretty much any provider’s setting?” he asked. “How is that not fundamentally affecting their right to sue for damages?”
Quezada is an attorney.
Others refuted that notion last week.
“This is not blanket immunity,” said Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry vice president Courtney Coolidge in the Thursday hearing. “It provides reasonable recourse for truly bad actors.”
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