Litigation In A Time of Pandemic

Legal proceedings have jumped since the pandemic started. It's not uncommon to hear about Los Angeles estate litigation attorneys working on behalf of clients to deal with a COVID-affected situation. Many of these cases might have arisen even without the added stress of Coronavirus. The pandemic only hastened their filing or caused businesses to renege on their contractual promises. We noticed legislation stemming from closures, shelter-in-place orders, and even cancellations. Here, we aim to cover a few of them to demonstrate how deeply the virus has affected everyday life.

Contracts/Force Majeure

Several event planning companies have faced lawsuits regarding the sales of tickets for events that were canceled due to the pandemic. Ticket News mentions that Seat Geek was hit with a class-action lawsuit over the changes it made to its refund policy. Other notable cases include a franchisor for some thirty (3) children's theme parks hoping to prevent the cancellation of their franchise through a force majeure included in the franchise agreement. A similar case occurred in Washington. A tech company filed a suit against a hotel chain, stating that the hotel's charges for canceling a conference because of travel restrictions were exorbitant. The tech company claims that the cancellation invoice of $300,000 was unenforceable and relied on a combination of common law defense of impossibility of performance alongside the contract's force majeure clause.

Insurance

Business Wire mentions that a handful of companies have brought class-action lawsuits against six insurance companies in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic. The claim is that these companies purchased insurance against business interruptions, such as the pandemic. As most businesses have suffered substantial financial penalties due to their inability to operate, insurance companies now have to cover more policies than they ever expected to have to. The potential losses incurred might make it worth their while to fight those cases in court.

Transactions/Leases in Real Estate

Quite a lot of people lost their jobs and others their business income in the state-wide shut downs. Naturally, real estate lawsuits will crop up as landlords seek to extract money from their tenants. Different states have been hit uniquely in the real estate sector. In New York, several commercial tenants have rescinded their leases. Landlords have taken them to court to challenge the recission. In other areas, tenants are unable to vacate premises, because shelter-in-place orders have prevented them from leaving their homes. In Virginia, property owners have proactively filed lawsuits seeking injunctive relief against foreclosures due to complications of the pandemic.

Severe Impact on the Economy

These lawsuits demonstrate the necessity of a lawyer fighting for the rights of the common man. Many of these situations have come about merely because circumstances went against what individuals expected. Instead of being understanding, unscrupulous individuals seek to capitalize on the misfortune that the pandemic has brought to bear. It will be a long time before the economy sufficiently recovers from the economic impact of the pandemic. Until then, all a person can do is hope to stay safe, and seek their own interests where they feel they've been wronged.

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