Missouri sues China over coronavirus outbreak

A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cape Girardeau has made Missouri the first state in the nation to sue China over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri’s Southeastern Division, alleges China suppressed information and denied the “contagious nature of the 2019 novel coronavirus,” which has resulted in “enormous loss of life, human suffering and economic turmoil” in Missouri.

“COVID-19 has done irreparable damage to countries across the globe,” said Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt in a statement issued by his office Tuesday morning. “In Missouri, the impact of the virus is very real. Thousands have been infected and many have died, families have been separated from dying loved ones, small businesses are shuttering their doors and those living paycheck-to-paycheck are struggling to put food on their table.”

In addition to the People’s Republic of China, other defendants named in the 47-page lawsuit include the Communist Party of China, China’s National Health Commission and its ministries of emergency management and civil affairs as well as the governments of the Chinese province of Hubei and the city of Wuhan in that province, the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

According to allegations contained in the lawsuit, the defendants were aware of coronavirus research and colluded to withhold information about it, especially when the outbreak began in late 2019.

The lawsuit alleges “during the critical weeks of the initial outbreak, Chinese authorities deceived the public, suppressed crucial information, arrested whistleblowers, denied human-to-human transmission in the face of mounting evidence, destroyed critical medical research, permitted millions of people to be exposed to the virus and even hoarded personal protective equipment (PPE), thus causing a global pandemic that was unnecessary and preventable.”

Among its allegations, the lawsuit claims that despite having knowledge of the coronavirus, China did little to stop its spread. According to The New York Times, nearly 175,000 people were allowed to leave Wuhan, believed to be the origin of the coronavirus, on Jan. 1 to celebrate the Lunar New Year, despite the risk of further infections.

The lawsuit notes the “immense negative impact” COVID-19 has had on Missourians, pointing out the deaths, unprecedented number of jobless claims, the impact on Missouri’s unemployment rate and the impact on Missouri’s budget. As of Tuesday, more than 5,900 Missourians had been diagnosed with coronavirus and at least 205 of them had died of the disease.

It is unclear whether the lawsuit could go to trial and, if it does, when that trial might be.

The lawsuit seeks relief on one count of “public nuisance,” one count of “abnormally dangerous activities” and two counts of “breach of duty.” Remedies, according to a statement from Schmitt’s office, could include civil penalties and restitution as well as punitive damages.

Asked why the litigation was filed at Cape Girardeau’s federal courthouse as opposed to any other the other federal courts in Missouri, Schmitt spokesperson Chris Nuelle told the Missourian “coronavirus doesn’t impact just Missourians who live in the cities. It impacts all Missourians. We regularly file cases in federal courts through the state, including Cape Girardeau. This is nothing out of the ordinary.”

To read the full lawsuit, visit www.ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2019/prc-complaint.pdf?sfvrsn=86ae7ab_2.

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