Covid-19 patent, US businesses simultaneously sue China

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Saundra Andringa-Meuer, a 61-year-old mother of six, had never smoked or drunk alcohol. Andringa-Meuer got Covid-19 when she moved from her Wisconsin home to Connecticut to help her son go to college.

Andringa-Meuer was hospitalized in March, before going into a coma and having to use a ventilator for 14 days. Doctors told the Andringa-Meuer family that they could barely survive. When through the critical situation, Andringa-Meuer learned that she was the heaviest Covid-19 patient ever cured in the hospital.

Andringa-Meuer is working with dozens of other Covid-19 patients and various American companies to sue China for the Covid-19 outbreak, an epidemic that killed more than 80,000 people in the United States.

“I realize that they have hidden the epidemic from the world and from Americans. We weren’t supposed to have that many deaths. We should not have closed the economy. The epidemic devastated the lives of Americans. I think we should correct these mistakes, ”said Andringa-Meuer.

According to APSo far, at least nine lawsuits have been launched in the United States against China, accusing Beijing of not acting enough to control the epidemic during an outbreak, seeking to cover up the epidemic situation in China. Wuhan Center and concealed its actions, as well as what China knows about translation.

Eight class action lawsuits have been filed representing thousands of individuals and companies in the United States, including one filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. According to Reuters, a lawsuit that accuses the Chinese government of denying the risk of person-to-person transmission, affecting “whistleblowers” and uncontrolled diseases that cause the new strain of the coronavirus to spread worldwide. The lawsuit estimates that Missouri could lose tens of billions of dollars due to China’s response to the virus.

In addition to Missouri, Mississippi state attorney general Lynn Fitch also announced plans to sue China for Covid-19, after “too many Mississippi suffer as a result of Beijing’s coverage.”

Fitch also urged Mississippi state lawmakers to support the bill proposed by Senators Tom Cotton in Arkansas and Dan Crenshaw in Texas, allowing Americans to sue China to compensate for the damage caused by the Covid-19 epidemic. cause

Difficulties in suing

Lawsuits now face many barriers under the Foreign Sovereignty Waiver Act, which allows foreign governments not to be sued in the United States, except in exceptional circumstances. However, experts believe that testing the conditions of exception is not a simple matter.

“We believe that taking advantage of these exceptions will be a difficult battle,” said Robert Boone, a Los Angeles prosecutor specializing in class action lawsuits.

The petitioners may consider the exception that China is involved in commercial activities that directly affect the United States. Another exception to consider is China’s misconduct in the United States under certain circumstances. The third exception is a foreign entity that can waive its immunity, by agreement.

Lawyers filed a lawsuit against China saying they can prove these exceptions and if they win, they can take some steps to ask China to compensate the damages, such as the confiscation of bank accounts. Chinese products or other Chinese assets in the US USA, if Beijing refuses to compensate the damage.

“They will have to pay. We can tell them, “We will no longer do business with you.” When you attack GDP, they get hurt, ”said Jeremy Alters, the lawyer representing Andringa-Meuer and many others in the Chinese lawsuit.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Geng Sheng defended the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr. Canh called the Missouri State Attorney General’s complaint “ridiculous and not based on both factual and legal grounds.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said that since the outbreak, the country had acted “openly, transparently and responsibly,” and demanded that the United States government “drop the lawsuits.” complex like that. “

According to Canh, like other countries, China is also a “victim, not a perpetrator or accessory to Covid-19.” The Chinese spokesman even mentioned the financial crisis that occurred in the US. USA In 2008, it led to the global financial crisis and asked, “Is anyone asking the US to suffer the consequences?” ?

American congressman in action

Parliamentarians in Congress and various US state legislatures. USA They are also trying to find ways to make it easier to sue China, including a “fair justice” bill due to Congressmen Marsha Blackburn, Martha McSally, Lance Gooden in the states of Tennessee, Arizona and Texas proposed.

“The Chinese government is responsible for the pain they cause across the United States,” Rep. McSally said in the announcement.

“Trillions of dollars in economic damage, more than 22 million Americans lost their jobs, more than 150,000 people died worldwide and continue to grow. Business owners and families who lost loved ones deserve justice. With this law, Americans have the opportunity to sue China in the United States court and hold them accountable for their actions, “said Blackburn MP.

In New Jersey, three Republican lawmakers introduced a draft resolution urging President Donald Trump and the United States Congress to pass a bill that would allow US citizens to sue China for “weak management” of the Covid-19 )

According to FoxOn April 20, Ron Wright and Chris Smith, two Republican congressmen in Texas and New Jersey, said they proposed a bill to allow US citizens and local governments to sue the Chinese government. due to its participation in the spread of Covid-19.

The bill requires the Chinese authorities to be responsible for the deaths, pain and injuries, as well as economic losses, stemming from allegations that Beijing does not provide sufficient information. With the World Health Organization (WHO), the Covid-19 epidemic erupted strongly in the United States and around the world.

In addition to the states, the Miami-based Berman Law Group (AP) announced on April 20 that it had filed a lawsuit, seeking to “seek billions of dollars in compensation for those who suffer personal injuries, die without reason. ” Yes, property damage and other losses because China does not control Covid-19 even though it is able to prevent disease from the start. “By the end of March, more than 5,000 Americans had signed the lawsuit.

It is unclear whether the bills will be passed, while the United States remains the world’s largest outbreak with more than 80,000 deaths and more than 1.3 million infections. According to legal experts, if these laws are passed, they could open the door to hundreds of lawsuits against China.

Thanh Dat

Summary