The Network for Public Health Law monitors key court cases and relevant judicial trends in public health. The Network’s monthly reporter, Judicial Trends in Public Health (JTPH), highlights select, recently-published cases in public health law and policy from the prior 3 months. Case abstracts are organized within 11 key topics (adapted from James G. Hodge, Jr., Public Health Law in a Nutshell, 4th ed. (2021)), including hyperlinks to the full decisions (where available). Contact the Network for more information, questions, or comments.

Gripum, LLC v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Cir., Aug. 29, 2022): Reviewing an administrative decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) according to the Administrative Procedure Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, held that the agency did not act in an arbitrary or unreasonable manner in issuing a marketing denial order that prevented Gripum from selling hundreds of flavored liquids for use in e-cigarette devices.

Read the abstract here.

Daphne Jane Andre-Rodney, et al. v. Kathy Hochul, et al. (U.S. District Court, N.D. New York, Aug. 1, 2022): A New York district court dismissed the claims of New York State hospital security officers who alleged that a state mandate that they be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection and due process. Read the abstract here.

Acuity v. Masters Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Supreme Court of Ohio, Sept. 7, 2022): Ohio’s highest court ruled via a 5-2 majority that Acuity, an insurer, did not have a duty to defend its insured, Masters Pharmaceutical (Masters), in lawsuits brought by West Virginia, Michigan, and Nevada localities for economic losses caused by the opioid epidemic. Read the abstract here.

Jane Lavoie-Fern, et al., v. The Hershey Company (U.S. District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania, July 11, 2022): A Pennsylvania district court denied Hershey’s motion to dismiss a claim for strict products liability and negligence for failure to warn customers of the potential harmful health effects of glycyrrhizin, a component of black licorice. Read the abstract here.

Sailboat Bend Sober Living, LLC v. City of Fort Lauderdale (U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Cir., Aug. 26, 2022): The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision in favor of the City of Fort Lauderdale against owners of a for-profit sober-living home, which houses people recovering from addiction. Read the abstract here.

TOPICS: These and other cases are organized on the Network website under the topics below (adapted from chapter titles in Public Health Law in a Nutshell (4th Edition) by James G. Hodge, Jr., Director, Network for Public Health Law—Western Region). Select a topic below to view all cases under that topic.

1.  Source & Scope of Public Health Legal Powers
2.  Constitutional Rights & the Public’s Health
3.  Preventing & Treating Communicable Conditions
4.  Social Distancing Measures
5.  Addressing Chronic Conditions
6.  Mitigating the Incidence & Severity of Injuries & Other Harms
7.  Public Health Information Management, Privacy & Security
8.  Regulating Communications
9.  Monitoring Property & the Built Environment
10. Public Health Emergency: Legal Preparedness & Response

11. COVID-19 Pandemic: Public Health Emergency Law & Policy Responses

JTPH is a collaboration of the Network’s Western and Eastern Region Offices led by Editor-in Chief, Jennifer Piatt, JD, Deputy Director, Western Region Office. Additional Western Region contributors include James G. Hodge, Jr., JD, LLM, Erica N. White, JD, Madisyn Puchebner, and Lauren Krumholz. Eastern Region contributors include Kathi Hoke, JD, Kerri McGowan Lowrey, JD, and Brianne Schell, JD, MA.

Legal information or guidance provided in this transmission or website does not constitute legal advice or representation. For legal advice, please consult specific legal counsel in your state.