Louisiana Businesses to Be Shielded From Most Virus Lawsuits

Waitress Gina Lauricella serves customers indoors, for the first time since the state shutdown, at Charles Seafood Restaurant in Harahan, La., Friday, May 15, 2020. Once a hot spot for coronavirus infections, Louisiana is officially easing up Friday on economically devastating business closures and public gathering restrictions that Gov. John Bel Edwards credits with slowing the spread of the virus. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
**THE ASSOCIATED PRESS**

Associated Press, Wire Service Content June 17, 2020, at 1:16 p.m – BATON ROUGE, La.

Louisiana businesses are receiving state protection from most lawsuits involving COVID-19 deaths or injuries,

Louisiana businesses are receiving state protection from most lawsuits involving COVID-19 deaths or injuries, after Gov. John Bel Edwards signed into law a package of measures that provides the sweeping liability limitations.

Three Republican-sponsored bills offering the lawsuit shields won support from lawmakers in the regular session that ended June 1.

The Democratic governor announced he’d signed the measures among a long list of bill signings released Monday and Tuesday. Edwards didn’t comment on the bills, which took effect immediately and are retroactive to March 11.

Supporters said the measures will protect businesses who kept providing — or started offering — needed services to the public despite the risks of the coronavirus pandemic from frivolous lawsuits.

“This legislation provides much needed peace of mind,” the Louisiana chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business posted on Twitter about one of the measures, sponsored by Republican Rep. Thomas Pressly of Shreveport.

Under Pressly’s bill, people will be unable to sue businesses, government agencies, trade show organizers and event planners for civil damages for injuries or death from COVID-19 unless they can prove the high legal standard of “gross negligence or willful misconduct.”

A second measure by GOP Sen. Sharon Hewitt, of Slidell, offers the same lawsuit protection to people and businesses who donate recovery services or products — such as hand sanitizer and protective clothing — and those selling that type of disaster aid “outside of the typical course and scope of their operations.”

Hewitt’s protections don’t just last through the coronavirus pandemic. They’ll continue during any declared state of emergency in Louisiana.

A third bill by Republican Sen. Patrick McMath, of Covington, gives the same limitation of liability to to restaurant owners and employees for the coronavirus outbreak, as long as they are deemed “in substantial compliance” with state, federal and local regulations about the virus. It doesn’t apply to future state emergencies or disasters.

The new laws received little opposition as they moved through the majority-Republican House and Senate. A handful of opponents in the Senate said they worried the blanket immunity being granted could have unintended consequences of keeping people from being able to file legitimate lawsuits.

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House Bill 826 and Senate Bills 491 and 508: www.legis.la.gov

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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak. Follow Melinda Deslatte on Twitter at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte.