State’s top court to hear series of COVID-related cases in October

The North Carolina Supreme Court has scheduled multiple cases on back-to-back days in October dealing with consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eight cases scheduled for oral arguments on Oct. 22-23 will cover a range of legal disputes related to the pandemic that hit North Carolina in spring 2020. Topics include the shutdown of bars across the state, the impact of the University of North Carolina System closing campuses to students, and the forced vaccination of a high school football player in Guilford County.

Oct. 22

In North State Deli v. The Cincinnati Insurance Company, a group of 16 restaurants “operating across North Carolina” ask the state’s highest court to overturn a decision from the state Appeals Court. The businesses ask Supreme Court justices to restore a trial court order that “business interruption” insurance policies cover restaurant losses related to the pandemic and government shutdown orders.

Cato Corporation v. Zurich American Insurance Company also involves an insurance dispute. The plaintiff sued its insurer over “wrongful denial of coverage for direct physical loss of and damage to insured properties” related to the pandemic, according to a court filing. Both a trial judge and the Appeals Court ruled against Cato.

The next two cases both deal with UNC System campus shutdowns during the pandemic.

In Lannan v. Board of Governors of UNC, students from UNC Chapel Hill and NC State University seek refunds related to the flagship campuses’ decision to remain closed for students in fall 2020. Other UNC campuses had reopened by that point. Plaintiffs in Lannan seek refunds of fees paid for in-person amenities that were not available. The state Appeals Court issued a ruling that would have allowed the case to move forward.

In Dieckhaus v. Board of Governors of UNC, students and parents from across the UNC System seek refunds related to the systemwide campus shutdowns in spring 2020. The Dieckhaus case directly challenges a law state legislators approved in June 2020 to shield the university from COVID-related lawsuits. Lower courts have ruled against the Dieckhaus plaintiffs.

Oct. 23

The second day of COVID cases begins with NC Bar and Tavern Association v. Cooper and Howell v. Cooper. Scheduled back-to-back, both cases feature owners of bars across North Carolina who challenge Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to keep their businesses shuttered as other businesses reopened after the early days of the pandemic. In both cases, the state Appeals Court would have allowed bar owners to proceed with their claims against the governor.

In Happel v. Guilford County Board of Education, a teenager and his mother are suing their local school board and the Old North State Medical Society over the teen’s forced COVID vaccination in 2021. Tanner Smith’s school had required him to get a COVID test before he could return to his football team. A clinic worker at a school testing site administered the vaccine to the 14-year-old Smith over his objection and without parental consent. The state Appeals Court labeled the conduct “egregious,” yet ruled against Smith and his mother, Emily Happel. Appellate judges determined that a federal law offered legal immunity to both the school system and the medical society that conducted the clinic.

In Land v. Whitley, medical providers in Pitt County argue that the state Emergency Act, approved unanimously in May 2020 to “encourage health professionals to meet our State’s critical needs” during the pandemic, should offer protection against a lawsuit linked to a hysterectomy surgery performed in June 2020.  The state Appeals Court ruled that the legislation did not shield the defendants from claims in Doris and Elliott Land’s lawsuit.

Each case will feature an hour of oral arguments. There is no deadline for the state Supreme Court to issue a decision in any of the eight cases.