Tyson Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Covid Liability Ruling (1)
Tyson Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Covid Liability Ruling (1)
July 25, 2022, 10:52 AM; Updated: July 25, 2022, 12:39 PM
-- Families of dead Tyson workers sued meatpacker
-- Company believes Trump executive order protected it
Tyson Foods Inc. has asked the US Supreme Court to consider overturning an appeals court decision that found a Trump administration executive order didnt protect the meatpacker from Covid-19 liability lawsuits filed by the families of dead workers.
In a petition for
writ of certiorari filed Friday with the high court, attorneys for Tyson argued the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit erred in denying Tysons claim.
In the petition and earlier appeals court motions, Tyson
said that an April 2020
executive order to the Department of Agriculture essentially required Tyson poultry and meat plants to remain open even as Covid-19 infections grew in the towns where the plants were located. The executive order protected Tyson from worker liability lawsuits filed in state courts, the company said.
Attorneys representing families in the appeals courts countered that the executive order wasnt directed at Tyson, and that Tyson had the power to close plants for health concerns.
{snip}
The case is
Tyson Foods Inc. v. Buljic, U.S., Docket Number Unavailable, Petition for cert filed 7/22/22.
(Adds quotes from the request and quotes from families' attorney in 11th and 12th paragraphs.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Bruce Rolfsen in Washington at BRolfsen@bloomberglaw.com
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Genevieve Douglas at gdouglas@bloomberglaw.com; Martha Mueller Neff at mmuellerneff@bloomberglaw.com