ABA Journal – Can plaintiffs from other countries hold China legally accountable for the coronavirus pandemic in their respective courts?
Barely 24 hours after the World Health Organization officially designated COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, the international legal blame game began. The first firm to file a lawsuit against the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party was Florida-based Berman Law Group, a Boca Raton firm with a heavy emphasis on mass torts and class actions.
Matthew Moore, the firm’s litigation attorney, stayed up all night drafting the complaint, which he filed in the Southern District of Florida the day after the declaration by the WHO. The case, a class action suit, was brought on behalf of individuals and small businesses alleging a variety of financial and health damages, on grounds citing China’s negligence in failing to contain the virus and in actively concealing the outbreak and its extent from the world.
About The Author
Russell Berman
Russell Berman is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He graduated from the University of Miami School of Business with majors in Finance and Business Law, and a Minor in Real Estate (B.A. December 2000). Mr. Berman received his Juris Doctor in May 2003 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, five years after graduating from high school. Mr. Berman focuses his practice in the areas of personal injury and personal injury protection claims, and he has successfully litigated and managed thousands of claims, recovering millions of dollars in personal injury protection benefits afforded by Automobile Insurance Policies, Medical Doctors, Doctors of Chiropractic, MRI facilities, Orthopedists, and Licensed Massage Therapists.