The Indiana Senate is moving forward with a bill to curtail the governor’s executive order privileges that is significantly different from the House version of the legislation designed to curtail emergency powers.
When planning for the 2020 holiday campaign started last February, Indianapolis Legal Aid Society had big ideas to host a kickoff party and enlist volunteers to talk to donors face-to-face with the goal of bringing in record contributions. Then the COVID-19 crisis changed everything. Despite the obstacles, the holiday fundraiser not only collected donations but surpassed the original goal of $225,000.
Since the COVID-19 public health emergency began in March 2020, businesses and nonprofits nationwide have had business interruption claims denied. The COVID Coverage Litigation Tracker at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School reported 1,099 federal lawsuits seeking insurance coverage because of the pandemic had been filed as of Jan. 25. To date, courts have granted insurers’ motions to dismiss in 147 cases and insurers motions for summary judgment in seven lawsuits, according to CCLT. Policyholders have scored a few victories with the courts denying the motions to dismiss in 29 lawsuits and granting the plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment in five cases.
As workers faced furloughs and layoffs during COVID-19 pandemic, many relied on unemployment checks for their needed source of income. But some also face a dilemma – choosing between returning to work in potentially unsafe conditions posed by the coronavirus or risk losing their job and going without pay. President Joe Biden in a Jan. 22 executive order requested a solution to that quandary.
It’s been a little over a year since I first heard the term “COVID-19.” Back then, like many others, I thought Indiana would see a large number of suits attempting to force insurers to cover the myriad losses that resulted from the pandemic and its associated shutdowns. While there were some significant matters filed last year, to date, no Indiana state or federal case regarding COVID-19 insurance coverage has reached a decision on the merits.
When restaurants forced to close due to COVID-19 turned to their insurers to offset their losses because they were unable to use their property as intended, many of us thought the prospects for coverage were good, especially under policies that did not have virus exclusions. But the insurance industry response was fierce.
For lawyers, COVID has forced us out of courtrooms, mediations, conferences and client visits. Videoconferencing software, usually Zoom, has stepped in to fill the void. Zoom is an imperfect substitute with plenty of drawbacks. However, after nearly a year litigating cases via Zoom, it has become an ingrained part of the practice of law. Even after COVID, Zoom is likely here to stay.
Legislation that aims to protect businesses from COVID-19-related lawsuits is heading to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk.
Nearly one-fifth of a proposed state funding hike for Indiana’s schools would go toward expanding private school voucher and virtual school programs under a budget plan Republican legislators released Thursday.
Indiana lawmakers moved forward Thursday with a proposal to change visitation restrictions at the state’s health and residential care sites amid concerns about residents’ declining interactions with loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Southern Indiana District Court has announced plans to resume in-person jury trials in April following a months-long hiatus due to the pandemic. Jury trials in Southern District courts are expected to resume April 5, and clerk offices in all divisions will reopen to the public next week.
Indiana health officials will soon expand coronavirus vaccines to Hoosiers ages 60 to 65 as they continue to sidestep federal recommendations for vaccine rollout and delay the timeline for teachers and other essential workers to become eligible for COVID-19 shots.
Legislation to provide businesses and individuals with protection from COVID-related civil liability is getting closer to the governor’s desk, with the Indiana House amending the bill and setting it up for a final House vote Thursday.
A larger surge of coronavirus deaths in Indiana during December than was initially reported contributed to an 18% jump in the state’s overall deaths during 2020.
House Democrats proposed an additional $1,400 in direct payments to individuals as Congress began piecing together a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that tracks President Joe Biden’s plan for battling the pandemic and reviving a still staggering economy.
Nearing the mid-point of the 2021 legislative session, the Indiana Senate overrode Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of a bill that housing advocates claimed would put more Hoosier tenants at risk of eviction. Democrats harshly criticized the override as the work of a Republican supermajority “drunk on power.”
Joe Biden, the first sitting U.S. president to openly oppose the death penalty, has discussed the possibility of instructing the Department of Justice to stop scheduling new executions, officials have told The Associated Press. But it remains unclear whether Biden may take broader action to halt the federal death penalty.
As the Trump administration was nearing the end of an unprecedented string of executions in Terre Haute, 70% of death row inmates were sick with COVID-19. Guards were ill. Traveling prison staff on the execution team had the virus. So did media witnesses, who may have unknowingly infected others when they returned home because they were never told about the spreading cases.
The United States Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t bar indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it can keep for now a ban on singing and chanting indoors.
The Senate early Friday approved a budget that would allow fast-track passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan without support from Republicans. Vice President Kamala Harris was in the chair to cast the tie-breaking vote, her first.