PHILADELPHIA – The People’s Republic of China is the target of a class action lawsuit filed in a Philadelphia federal court, charging it with negligence and reckless indifference and seeking compensation on behalf of all U.S. citizens impacted by the coronavirus.
The litigation was filed Monday with four name plaintiffs:
• Francis Smith of Lumberton, N.J., a man who contracted the coronavirus and is currently receiving critical medical treatment;
• Frank Giordano of Moorestown, N.J., the former president of the Union League of Philadelphia and current president of the Philly Pops;
• Daniel Christy of Horsham, the owner of the Margaritas Mexican Restaurant chain; and
• Rev. Dr. Herbert H. Lusk II of Philadelphia, the pastor of the Greater Exodus Baptist Church in North Philadelphia who is also a former running back for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Per the lawsuit, “The delay and failure by the senior officials of the government of China, which was the first country to face the new coronavirus and the source of the virus, directly resulted in the global pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic currently has resulted in more than 2.3 million cases in the word, more than 753,000 persons infected in the United States and more than 36,000 U.S. deaths.”
“The government of China knew of the devastation of the coronavirus and prevented Chinese citizens from leaving or entering the city of Wuhan. However, the government of China allowed foreign citizens to come in and out of the city of Wuhan.”
Further referenced in the lawsuit is a recent Associated Press article that details that by no later than Jan. 14, Chinese health officials knew that person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus was possible, that it may spread to other countries and advised President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan of the same.
“Despite possessing such information and knowledge, however, at that time, the officials of the government of China did not publicly disclose the strong possibility of the spread of the coronavirus by human-to-human transmission, including spread to other countries and the danger that the coronavirus infection in Wuhan would develop into a major public health event and global pandemic,” the suit states.
“Instead, officials of the government publicly downplayed the risk of the spread of the coronavirus, stated publicly that the risk of human-to-human transmission of the virus was low and that there was no evidence of such transmission.”
The suit charges that subsequently, plaintiff Smith contracted COVID-19 and is now hospitalized in critical condition, and that both the other plaintiffs and millions of other U.S. citizens have suffered severe and significant economic losses resulting from shutdown measures associated with the virus.
Plaintiff counsel Charles D. Mandracchia of Mandracchia & McWhirk in Montgomery County, stated the suit was filed to say that Americans are willing to fight for what they believe in, for what they’ve worked for and for what their country stands for.
“The bottom line is the American people don’t want to get pushed around. [China] has destroyed our economy, our country and the American businessperson, people with small businesses. We just want to take a stand and say we will not tolerate this,” Mandracchia said.
In the complaint, Mandracchia cited 28 U.S.C. Section 1605(a)(5), which overrides the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state where “money damages are sought against a foreign state for personal injury or death, or damage to or loss of property, occurring in the United States and caused by the tortious act or omission of that foreign state or of any official or employee of that foreign state while acting within the scope of his office or employment.”
As for the named plaintiffs, Mandracchia said they represent not only individuals who have worked hard to build entities such as small businesses and churches, but America as a whole.
In a class that could hypothetically include millions of people, the suit looks for compensatory damages of $75,000 for each class member, plus costs, attorney’s fees and other relief. But that amount, standard for damages at the federal court level, is a small number compared to what hard-working individuals are currently losing, Mandracchia says.
“China needs to pay and needs to pay in a big way. It needs to be proportioned similar to the payroll protection plan. It’s definitely negligent, what they did is outrageous,” Mandracchia said.
Mandracchia hopes the lawsuit will advocate for those suffering hardship as a result of the coronavirus.
“Hopefully, my lawsuit is going to make someone pay attention and at least stand up and be counted. Whatever happens, it’s going to happen. I’m going to fight. What is the government going to say? ‘Hey, these people shouldn’t be compensated’ or ‘We’re protecting China?'"
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:20-cv-01958
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com