ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a preliminary writ of mandamus filed by a nursing home in a wrongful death case.
The lawsuit involves a woman named Mary Gray who contracted COVID-19 during her residency at Clinton No. 1. Her daughter, Donna Yarnell, filed a wrongful death suit against the nursing home due to the nursing home's COVID-19 roommate policy during the pandemic.
The nursing home had sought a writ of mandamus to direct the circuit court to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit following the death of Gray from COVID-19., according to the March 5 opinion issued by the court.
Judge Robin Ransom authored the opinion. Judge Paul Wilson authored a separate opinion.
The Supreme Court denied the preliminary writ, finding that the nursing home, at this juncture of the case, did not demonstrate its entitlement to immunity under federal law because the wrongful death claim did not assert that the resident's death resulted from the nursing home's negligence in implementing a COVID-19 countermeasure.
The lower court did not take into account the nursing home's affidavit when deciding the motion to dismiss, according to the opinion.
The nursing home failed to prove its eligibility for immunity under state law, Ransom found. The records did not indicate that the nursing home was mobilized by the government during the pandemic.
"We're pleased that the Missouri Supreme Court rejected the grab-bag of immunity theories Clinton grasped at in an attempt to avoid responsibility for its action and inaction," Adam R. Pulver, an attorney for Yarnell, said in an interview with The St. Louis Record. "Like the other judges to have considered this case before, the Supreme Court unanimously recognized that Ms. Yarnell has never claimed that Clinton's COVID testing efforts killed her mother and that there's absolutely no evidence Clinton was ever deployed by the state government. We look forward to returning to the trial court and proceeding to discovery."
Yarnell filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Clinton in Henry County Circuit Court. The petition alleged that Yarnell's mother, Gray, had a contract for a private room at Clinton for medical and nursing services starting in July 2018. In November 2020, Clinton placed Gray with a roommate, which Yarnell claimed exposed Gray to COVID-19, contrary to the private room agreement.
Gray contracted COVID-19 and died a week later after being moved to a hospital. Yarnell accused Clinton of negligence for placing Gray in a double room, not following infection control during the pandemic, failing to separate Gray from her COVID-positive roommate promptly, and moving her to a hospital without family notice or in accordance with her advance directives, according to the opinion.
Clinton removed the case to federal court, citing jurisdiction, but Yarnell motioned to remand, which the district court agreed to. After remand, Clinton filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, citing the PREP Act and Missouri laws.
An affidavit from Clinton's nursing director stated they implemented COVID-19 testing and separated residents into positive and negative wings, rearranging room assignments. The circuit court denied Clinton's motion to dismiss, stating the PREP Act didn't apply, and rejected Clinton's immunity theories.
Clinton then sought a writ of prohibition or mandamus, and the court granted a preliminary writ of mandamus.
Wilson agreed with the decision in a separate opinion, which two other judges supported. He suggested that the court should amend its rules to permit the consideration of evidence beyond the pleadings when assessing immunity claims during the motion to dismiss phase.
Missouri Supreme Court case number: SC100099