American coronavirus patients and businesses will SUE China over claims that the country tried to hide the outbreak
Dozens of American COVID-19 patients and a handful of businesses are attempting to sue China over the spread of the virus
At least nine lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. against China claiming authorities there did not do enough to corral the virus initially, tried to hide what was happening in the outbreak center of Wuhan and sought to conceal their actions and what they knew.
The United States is leading the world in coronavirus infections. As of Sunday afternoon there are 1,356,650 confirmed cases and 80,308 deaths.
Eight of the lawsuits are potential class actions that would represent thousands of people and businesses.
One was filed by the attorney general of Missouri, which is so far the only state to take legal action against China.
Dozens of American coronavirus patients and some businesses are suing China over alleged negligence in the coronavirus outbreak
The cases face several hurdles under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which states that foreign governments cannot be sued in the U.S. unless certain exceptions are met. And those are not easy to prove, experts say.
'We think it's going to be an uphill battle for them to ultimately take advantage of those exceptions,' said Robert Boone, an attorney in Los Angeles who specializes in class action cases.
One exception involves commercial activity that directly affects the U.S.
Another is misconduct inside the U.S. under certain circumstances that is traceable to a foreign government. A third exception is whether the foreign entity explicitly waived its immunity, such as through language in a contract.
Pictured: A nurse cleans a patient with COVID-19 on a ventilator at a Stamford Hospital Intensive Care Unit on in Stamford, Connecticut
Attorneys who have filed the lawsuits say they can prove those claims, and, if they win, find some method of collecting damages, perhaps by seizing Chinese bank accounts or other assets in the U.S. if the Chinese refuse to pay.
Saundra Andringa-Meuer, 61, is one of the claimants whose taken action against China.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Andringa-Meuer was a healthy 61-year-old mother of six who never smoked or drank alcohol.
Then she became seriously ill with the disease after traveling from her Wisconsin home to help her son move from college in Connecticut.
She was hospitalized in March, ending up in a coma and on a ventilator for 14 days. Doctors told her family she had a slim chance to live.
Saundra Andringa-Meuer (pictured) has joined other Americans in filing lawsuits against China after she suffered from COVID-19 in March
When she emerged, she was told she was the sickest COVID-19 patient they had seen survive.
'I do feel that they hid it from the world and from Americans,' she said.
'I don't feel we had to have the loss of life. I don't think we had to have the economy shut down. It disrupted all of American lives. I do believe we need to right some of these wrongs.'
In one case filed in Miami federal court on behalf of Andringa-Meurer and many others, attorneys Matthew Moore and Jeremy Alters of Berman Law Group are suing the Chinese Communist Party as an entity separate from the Chinese government.
'They have their own assets. They are recognized as an independent organization. We are going to argue they are not a part of the government,' Moore said. 'There has been personal injury that happened in the United States.'
Added Alters: 'They're going to have to pay... We can say, "We're not going to do business with you anymore." When you hit them in the (gross domestic product), it hurts.'
Three years ago, the firm won a $1.2 billion (£960 million) case against China over the manufacture of defective building materials.
'Ultimately, the Berman Law Group is seeking to have China compensate American citizens and businesses for the trillions of dollars in damages the have and will suffer because of China's failures to act responsibly,' the firm said in a media release.
Lawyers argued that although nations have legal immunity, there are exceptions under US law for personal or property damages and for actions abroad that impact on businesses in their own borders.
In Missouri, Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt's filed a lawsuit against China on behalf of the state.
The lawsuit alleges Chinese officials are 'responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians.'
The state of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government over the coronavirus pandemic, claiming China's officials are to blame for the devastating outbreak that's sweeping the globe
Schmitt announced the lawsuit on Tuesday saying: 'The bottom line: they lied to the world & should be held accountable'
'The Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistleblowers, and did little to stop the spread of the disease,' Schmitt's office said in a written statement. 'They must be held accountable for their actions.'
World leaders including President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne have expressed concerns over Beijing’s transparency amid the virus.
So far, 22 Republican lawmakers requested that the Trump administration bring a case against China to the International Court of Justice for the country’s actions in the coronavirus pandemic.
Schmitt's office is seeking unspecified damages for deaths in Missouri and the hit the virus has taken on the state's economy.
'In Missouri, the impact of the virus is very real - thousands have been infected and many have died, families have been separated from dying loved ones, small businesses are shuttering their doors, and those living paycheck to paycheck are struggling to put food on their table,' he said in his statement.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang defended his country's record of fighting the virus.
He said the lawsuit filed by the Missouri attorney general is 'very absurd and has no factual and legal basis.'
Since the outbreak began, China has proceeded in an 'open, transparent, and responsible manner,' and the U.S. government should 'dismiss such vexatious litigation,' he said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang (pictured) called Missouri's lawsuit 'absurd' and defended China
Efforts are underway in Congress and in some state legislatures to make it easier to sue China and other countries. One bill was introduced by Republican U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Martha McSally of Arizona, and GOP U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas in the House.
'The Chinese government must be held accountable for the pain it's inflicted across the United States,' McSally said in a statement. The proposed legislation 'will give the U.S. a piece of justice.'
In New Jersey, three Republican state lawmakers introduced a resolution urging President Donald Trump and Congress to pass a bill letting citizens sue China for 'mishandling' the pandemic.
State Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano said in a statement that they believe Chinese leaders did little to stop the spread of the virus and that residents and local governments should be legally allowed to recover some of what they lost financially.
It's not clear if any of the legislation will pass. If the bills were enacted, legal experts say they could open the floodgates for hundreds more lawsuits against China.
'If that immunity were stripped, it's going to produce a gigantic burden on the court system,' said Boone, the class action lawyer. 'That's a factor that will need to be weighed in deciding whether to pass it.'
American coronavirus patients and businesses will SUE China over claims that the country tried to hide the outbreak
![American coronavirus patients and businesses will SUE China over claims that the country tried to hide the outbreak]()
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May 11, 2020
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