Summer Valentine, Associated Press
3 hours ago
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey testifies during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at the Washington State Capitol. Federal judges ruled Wednesday that Missouri can move forward with a lawsuit accusing China of its role in the coronavirus pandemic. Bailey, whose firm filed the lawsuit, praised the decision by X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri lawsuit accusing China of hoarding masks and other protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic will move forward Wednesday with a federal judge. The court ruled that it is possible.
However, a panel of the U.S. 8th District Court of Appeals dismissed the Missouri lawsuit in its entirety in 2022, finding that federal rules prohibit sovereign foreign corporations from being sued in U.S. courts. It specifically agreed with the lower court’s decision. The country blamed the pandemic on Chinese authorities for not taking sufficient measures to slow the spread of the pandemic.
The appeals board found it could only hear allegations that China hoarded personal protective equipment.
“Missouri’s overarching theory is that China took advantage of the world’s ignorance about the coronavirus,” Judge David Strass wrote in the ruling. “One of the ways they did that was by manipulating the global personal protective equipment market. Missouri still has to prove it, but it could advance the claim beyond the jurisdictional dismissal of the complaint. has made a sufficient claim to permit.”
Chief Justice Ravensky Smith disagreed, writing that the entire case should be dismissed.
“The immunity granted to foreign states under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, while not inviolable, is much stronger and stronger than the claims asserted in this case,” Smith wrote. “It is certainly not strong enough to justify judicial intervention in an area where there are a number of serious political and diplomatic concerns.”
Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who filed the lawsuit, praised Wednesday’s ruling against X (formerly known as Twitter).
“We are heading back to court to seek relief,” he posted.
The lawsuit, filed in April 2020, alleges that Chinese officials are “responsible for the tremendous death, suffering, and economic loss inflicted on the world, including the people of Missouri.”
Neither the Chinese government nor the other Chinese defendants named in the case have responded to the lawsuit in court.
The International Law Advocacy Association and the China International Private Law Association submitted a brief defending China against the lawsuit. Emails and voice messages left by The Associated Press with attorneys for each group were not immediately returned Wednesday.
China criticized the lawsuit as “highly unreasonable” and said it had no factual or legal basis. Legal experts have largely criticized the move as a ploy aimed at shifting the blame for the coronavirus pandemic onto China.