Nursing Home Covid Death Suit Forum Decision Stands in 9th Cir.

A California nursing home lost its bid Monday for a rehearing before a full panel of Ninth Circuit judges in a state-law wrongful death suit that, it said, should be tried in federal court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in February that Glenhaven Healthcare LLC had to defend a lawsuit over a resident’s Covid-19 death in state court, rejecting the nursing home’s claim that the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act preempts state-law causes of action.

The Third and Fifth circuits have reached the same result in similar cases—making the federal appeals courts unanimous so ...