COVID & Litigation Against Public Health Agencies

This presentation will examine the state of such litigation from the defense perspective.

COVID-19 is a severe acute respiratory illness that spreads through direct, indirect or close contact with infected people. Public health agencies found various ways to assess the number of cases, the ability of the healthcare system to respond to cases and the ability to prevent future cases. Simultaneously, the plaintiffs’ bar attempted various ways to stop public health agencies’ efforts, from an injunction based upon an alleged violation of an administrative procedures act to Section 1983 actions alleging violations of the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. This presentation will examine the state of such litigation from the defense perspective.

Attendee Takeaways:

1. Recognize that all rights are subject to reasonable conditions essential to the health and safety of the community
2. Evaluate a public health agency’s exercise of its emergency authority during a public health crisis to limit such right using the framework developed in year 1905 by the U.S. Supreme Court

Dan has been the Risk Manager for Dane County since 2008. Dan administers the County’s self-insured Workers’ Compensation program and is the president of the County’s liability insurer, the Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Company (“WMMIC”) and is a past president of the Wisconsin Chapter of PRiMA. Before coming to Dane County, Dan served as in-house counsel for a non-profit organization dedicated to serving people with physical disabilities and mental health issues.

Dan earned his BA from Marquette University and his JD from DePaul University.

Remzy has been practicing in the area of Municipal and Civil Rights Litigation Defense for over 17 years. Remzy handles all aspects of such litigation in both state and federal court including trial and appeals. His experience ranges from defending civil rights lawsuits against jails and law enforcement, to handling condemnation, zoning and other land use matters, to open records and open meetings law, and to the defense of municipalities and their officials and employees in the areas of First Amendment, Fourth Amendment and Equal Protection and Due Process. Remzy earned his BA from Lawrence University and his JD from Washington University School of Law.

Greg Kruse is an assistant city attorney with the City of Milwaukee whose practice includes public health law as well as emergency management law. In his role representing the Milwaukee Health Department and the City of Milwaukee Board of Health, Greg has assisted with the City's response to the COVID-19 pandemic by defending its local health orders, assisting with emergency contracting and procurement, and enforcing quarantine, isolation, and other health orders against both businesses and individuals. Greg graduated from UW Milwaukee with a B.A. in linguistics and holds a J.D. from Marquette University Law School.