Public Health Authority
Case Updates
August 12, 2022
Case updates this week:

Friday, August 5: A federal court in Connecticut dismissed two counts —an equal protection claim and a 1st amendment claim —of plaintiffs’ six-count amended complaint. The lawsuit arose over a dispute concerning mask mandate policies and was brought against the Plainfield Board of Education, as well as school district personnel.

Monday, August 8: A federal court in New York dismissed a suit by a pro se plaintiff alleging that defendant Mount Sinai Hospital compelled their COVID-19 vaccination despite plaintiff's request for a religious exemption. The court gave plaintiff up to 45 days to further amend their complaint if desired.

Tuesday, August 9: A Washington appeals court affirmed a trial court's order granting summary judgment to the Washington Secretary of Health against litigants seeking to invalidate the secretary’s masking mandates. The court held that the mandate did not implicate free speech and was not void as the authority of the Secretary, Governor, and local health officer were not improper.

This newsletter is distributed by Public Health Law Watch as part of Act for Public Health, a working group of the Public Health Law Partnership that is convening to provide law and policy research, analysis, and expertise in support of public health authority.
The Public Health Law Partnership includes organizations with decades of experience in public health law, authority, and governance, including ChangeLab Solutions, the Network for Public Health Law, the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University, the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and Public Health Law Watch, a George Consortium initiative housed at the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University.