Courts

The CDC continues to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determines a mandate is necessary, the Justice Department will file an appeal.

A panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal upheld an Orange County circuit judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit in which bars sought damages for what is known as “inverse condemnation.”

The settlements left Walgreens as the sole defendant in a lawsuit that targeted businesses involved in all aspects of the opioid industry. A Pasco County judge is scheduled to begin jury selection next week.

Siding with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the court said plaintiffs must show that smokers relied on misleading information from cigarette makers to prevail on the claims.

An unlicensed woman fined for offering dietary advice contends that the state violated her speech rights. A appellate panel ruled against her, but her attorneys want the full court to hear the case.

Lawmakers last year passed a measure to help shield hospitals, nursing homes and other providers from lawsuits related to the coronavirus. The measure was set to expire March 29.

Florida is one of numerous states that have challenged the contractor requirement, with a federal judge in Georgia this month issuing a nationwide injunction against the requirement.

The high court’s announcement that it will hear arguments in the cases Jan. 7 comes amid rising coronavirus cases and is an extraordinarily fast timeline.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved a joint motion from the parties to dismiss the case. The motion and the dismissal did not explain the reasons.

The panel ruled a federal judge in Louisiana went too far in issuing a nationwide stay. As a result, the injunction continues to apply to 14 states involved in the case, but not other states such as Florida.

The order came in a lawsuit filed by the Florida attorney general’s office in 2018 seeking unspecified damages against drug manufacturers, retailers and distributors.

The nationwide stay is the latest in a string of victories for Republican-led states pushing back against the president's pandemic policies.