Missouri
Judges rule lawsuit accusing China of hoarding pandemic gear can proceed
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri lawsuit accusing China of hoarding masks and other protective gear during the COVID-19 pandemic can move forward, federal judges ruled Wednesday.
A panel of the U.S. Eighth District Court of Appeals panel, however, otherwise agreed with a lower court’s 2022 ruling that tossed out Missouri’s case entirely, finding that federal rules prohibit a sovereign foreign entity from being sued in American courts. The state alleged that China’s officials were to blame for the pandemic because they didn’t do enough to slow its spread.
The appeals panel found that only one claim may proceed: an allegation that China hoarded personal protective equipment.
“Missouri’s overarching theory is that China leveraged the world’s ignorance about COVID-19,” Judge David Stras wrote in the ruling. “One way it did so was by manipulating the worldwide personal-protective-equipment market. Missouri must still prove it, but it has alleged enough to allow the claim to proceed beyond a jurisdictional dismissal on the pleadings.”
Chief Judge Lavenski Smith dissented, writing that the whole lawsuit should be dismissed.
“Immunity for foreign states under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, while not impenetrable, is quite stout and stronger than the claim alleged in this case,” Smith wrote. “It is certainly not strong enough to justify judicial intervention into an arena well populated with substantial political and diplomatic concerns.”
Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, whose office filed the lawsuit, lauded the ruling Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The lawsuit, filed in April 2020, alleged that Chinese officials were “responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians.”
Neither the Chinese government nor any other Chinese defendant named in the case has responded to the lawsuit in court.
The Lawyers for Upholding International Law and The China Society of Private International Law filed briefs defending China against the lawsuit. Associated Press emails and voice messages left with lawyers for the groups were not immediately returned Wednesday.
China has criticized the lawsuit as “very absurd” and said it has no factual and legal basis. Legal experts have mostly panned it as a stunt aimed at shifting blame to China for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Montana
Fire chief who refused vaccine mandate charged in Jan. 6 riot
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Montana fire chief who lost a previous job over a coronavirus vaccine mandate has been charged with spraying a chemical irritant on police officers during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Prosecutors say that Frank Dahlquist sprayed “an orange-colored chemical agent” directly into the face of one officer and later sprayed a second officer as supporters of former president Donald Trump attacked the Capitol building in Washington D.C., according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.
He was identified in part by matching his distinctive facial hair with a photo from the riot to a TV news story about firefighters who were terminated from a fire department near Seattle in April 2022 after the agency required a COVID-19 vaccination, court documents state.
Later that year, Dahlquist was named chief of West Valley Fire Rescue, near Helena, Montana.
No lawyer was listed for Dahlquist in court records, and he did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment. The Associated Press also left messages with the fire department.
Dahlquist was charged with assault, obstruction of law enforcement and other counts. The case was first reported by the online publication Court Watch.
He is also accused of throwing a piece of lumber toward a line of police officers, though it fell short of the officers and did not come close to hitting them, prosecutors said. FBI agents confirmed his identity by talking to firefighters who had worked with him in Issaquah, Washington and identified him from video and photos taken on Jan. 6. They also provided his cellphone number, which was traced to the restricted area of the Capitol that day.
Investigators also found text messages he sent from that number to someone else convicted in the riot, saying “It was a great day!! It got spicy but I love the taste of Freedom.”
He was arrested in Montana and made his first court appearance Wednesday, according to court records.
Massachusetts
Boston reaches $2.4M settlement with female police commander over gender discrimination
BOSTON (AP) — Boston has reached a $2.4 million settlement with a high ranking female police commander who accused the department of gender discrimination, her lawyer said Wednesday.
Beth Donovan, the first woman to reach the rank of deputy superintendent of the police department’s Bureau of Field Services, was demoted to sergeant from deputy superintendent in September 2018. The demotion came after a complaint she filed. She has been kept on administrative leave and medical leave because injuries sustained as a result of discriminatory and retaliatory treatment, her lawyer Nick Carter said.
“Beth Donovan took on the Boston Police Department simply to demand fair treatment as a woman leader there. She is pleased with the result and hopes this helps women who remain at the BPD and those who come after,” Carter said in a statement. “Hopefully with Donovan’s case and some of the other women who have recently been successful in suing for discrimination ... the BPD will start to change and women won’t be punished for demanding fair and equal treatment.”
Carter confirmed a formal agreement was still being drafted, as did the city.
“This pending settlement marks the end of a years-long process,” a city spokesman said in a statement. “Under Commissioner (Michael) Cox’s new leadership, we are bolstering more trust within the department and with our community members. Like other large employers and municipalities, the city resolves some claims via settlement.”
Donovan’s troubles started in 2017 after she initiated an internal affairs investigation against a fellow officer and neighbor over a graduation party, according to the Boston Globe, citing court records. Donovan accused the officer of tossing a beer can at her during the party and calling her several profanities.
The investigation prompted retaliation against Donovan, according to the court records, including spreading rumors that she has a drinking problem and taking away some of her deputy superintendent responsibilities.
Judges rule lawsuit accusing China of hoarding pandemic gear can proceed
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri lawsuit accusing China of hoarding masks and other protective gear during the COVID-19 pandemic can move forward, federal judges ruled Wednesday.
A panel of the U.S. Eighth District Court of Appeals panel, however, otherwise agreed with a lower court’s 2022 ruling that tossed out Missouri’s case entirely, finding that federal rules prohibit a sovereign foreign entity from being sued in American courts. The state alleged that China’s officials were to blame for the pandemic because they didn’t do enough to slow its spread.
The appeals panel found that only one claim may proceed: an allegation that China hoarded personal protective equipment.
“Missouri’s overarching theory is that China leveraged the world’s ignorance about COVID-19,” Judge David Stras wrote in the ruling. “One way it did so was by manipulating the worldwide personal-protective-equipment market. Missouri must still prove it, but it has alleged enough to allow the claim to proceed beyond a jurisdictional dismissal on the pleadings.”
Chief Judge Lavenski Smith dissented, writing that the whole lawsuit should be dismissed.
“Immunity for foreign states under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, while not impenetrable, is quite stout and stronger than the claim alleged in this case,” Smith wrote. “It is certainly not strong enough to justify judicial intervention into an arena well populated with substantial political and diplomatic concerns.”
Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, whose office filed the lawsuit, lauded the ruling Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The lawsuit, filed in April 2020, alleged that Chinese officials were “responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians.”
Neither the Chinese government nor any other Chinese defendant named in the case has responded to the lawsuit in court.
The Lawyers for Upholding International Law and The China Society of Private International Law filed briefs defending China against the lawsuit. Associated Press emails and voice messages left with lawyers for the groups were not immediately returned Wednesday.
China has criticized the lawsuit as “very absurd” and said it has no factual and legal basis. Legal experts have mostly panned it as a stunt aimed at shifting blame to China for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Montana
Fire chief who refused vaccine mandate charged in Jan. 6 riot
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Montana fire chief who lost a previous job over a coronavirus vaccine mandate has been charged with spraying a chemical irritant on police officers during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Prosecutors say that Frank Dahlquist sprayed “an orange-colored chemical agent” directly into the face of one officer and later sprayed a second officer as supporters of former president Donald Trump attacked the Capitol building in Washington D.C., according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.
He was identified in part by matching his distinctive facial hair with a photo from the riot to a TV news story about firefighters who were terminated from a fire department near Seattle in April 2022 after the agency required a COVID-19 vaccination, court documents state.
Later that year, Dahlquist was named chief of West Valley Fire Rescue, near Helena, Montana.
No lawyer was listed for Dahlquist in court records, and he did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment. The Associated Press also left messages with the fire department.
Dahlquist was charged with assault, obstruction of law enforcement and other counts. The case was first reported by the online publication Court Watch.
He is also accused of throwing a piece of lumber toward a line of police officers, though it fell short of the officers and did not come close to hitting them, prosecutors said. FBI agents confirmed his identity by talking to firefighters who had worked with him in Issaquah, Washington and identified him from video and photos taken on Jan. 6. They also provided his cellphone number, which was traced to the restricted area of the Capitol that day.
Investigators also found text messages he sent from that number to someone else convicted in the riot, saying “It was a great day!! It got spicy but I love the taste of Freedom.”
He was arrested in Montana and made his first court appearance Wednesday, according to court records.
Massachusetts
Boston reaches $2.4M settlement with female police commander over gender discrimination
BOSTON (AP) — Boston has reached a $2.4 million settlement with a high ranking female police commander who accused the department of gender discrimination, her lawyer said Wednesday.
Beth Donovan, the first woman to reach the rank of deputy superintendent of the police department’s Bureau of Field Services, was demoted to sergeant from deputy superintendent in September 2018. The demotion came after a complaint she filed. She has been kept on administrative leave and medical leave because injuries sustained as a result of discriminatory and retaliatory treatment, her lawyer Nick Carter said.
“Beth Donovan took on the Boston Police Department simply to demand fair treatment as a woman leader there. She is pleased with the result and hopes this helps women who remain at the BPD and those who come after,” Carter said in a statement. “Hopefully with Donovan’s case and some of the other women who have recently been successful in suing for discrimination ... the BPD will start to change and women won’t be punished for demanding fair and equal treatment.”
Carter confirmed a formal agreement was still being drafted, as did the city.
“This pending settlement marks the end of a years-long process,” a city spokesman said in a statement. “Under Commissioner (Michael) Cox’s new leadership, we are bolstering more trust within the department and with our community members. Like other large employers and municipalities, the city resolves some claims via settlement.”
Donovan’s troubles started in 2017 after she initiated an internal affairs investigation against a fellow officer and neighbor over a graduation party, according to the Boston Globe, citing court records. Donovan accused the officer of tossing a beer can at her during the party and calling her several profanities.
The investigation prompted retaliation against Donovan, according to the court records, including spreading rumors that she has a drinking problem and taking away some of her deputy superintendent responsibilities.
