ONGOING LAWSUIT AGAINST GOVERNMENT AND SEVEN AIRLINES RELATED TO MASK REQUIREMENT
October 20, 2021
The Department of Justice recently submitted an answer arguing that the federal mask mandate related to various modes of transportation is not unconstitutional in response to a lawsuit filed in a District Court in Florida by several individuals from various states within the U.S. and Israel. The Complaint alleged that the federal mask mandate requiring that passengers wear masks while using public transportation violates the civil rights of passengers. One of the individual plaintiffs, Lucas Wall, initiated the lawsuit and has written and distributed several articles regarding it since June 2021. In the Complaint, seven airlines were named as defendants including, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Spirit Airlines. The plaintiffs also named the Transportation Security Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and President Joe Biden in the Complaint. Wall originally filed suit because earlier this year, he was turned away from a Southwest Airlines flight for failing to wear a mask or request a medical exemption at least seven days prior to his flight, as required by the airline’s policies.
Since the initial suit was filed, some of the airlines named as defendants have released statements dispelling claims made in the Complaint. The case is still ongoing and has yet to be considered or ruled upon, but will be considered by a judge in Florida.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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