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Date: 03-20-2022
Case Style:
Case Number: 9:21-cv-00108-DWM
Judge: Donald Molloy
Court: United States District Court for the District of Montana (Lewis & Clark County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: Justin Cole, Kathryn Mahe, Raphael Graybill
Defendant's Attorney: Alwyn Lansing and Bret Adam Mead, David M.S. Dewhirst Christian B. Corrigan, Emily E. Jones
Description: Helena, Montana civil litigation lawyers represented Plaintiffs, who sued Defendants seeking a declaratory judgment determining the legality and enforceability of Montana House Bill 702 which conflicted with a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interim rule that requires staff of CMS certified facilities — such as hospitals, long-term care facilities and rehabilitation centers — to be vaccinated against COVID.
The CMS rule was challenged, although ultimately upheld by the United States Supreme Court in January. The high court noted medical facilities have historically required vaccination for a number of diseases, such as influenza and hepatitis B.
The Montana bill attempted to prevent employers for making employees be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Plaintiffs claimed the Montana law was unconstitutional saying that it “jeopardizes physicians’ ability to maintain best practices now in place for protecting patients and staff from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Outcome: Judge Molly ruled that the Supremacy Clause invalidates the Montana law.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: