New Orleans Mayor And Health Department Sued Over COVID

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A lawsuit filed on Monday will challenge COVID-19 mandates in the City of New Orleans, now 2 years deep into the pandemic. WVUE reports that a large group of plaintiffs have filed the lawsuit against Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Dr. Jennifer Avegno and the City's Health Department (which Dr. Avegno heads up).

The lawsuit that was filed by Louisiana attorney Jimmy Faircloth on Monday. It will go in front of Judge Robin Giarusso in Orleans Parish Civil District Court. The plaintiffs include more than 100 area residents, split between Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish residents, with some other Louisiana residents mixed in. The common thread with all of the plaintiffs is that they live, work, or participate in activities in New Orleans.

The biggest challenges in the lawsuit are against the city's COVID vaccine and masking mandates. These mandates are still restricting restaurants, gyms, and other events in the city. The lawsuit states that plaintiffs have:

“endured nearly two years of unprecedented executive control during the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a temporary means to protect the community from unknown risks has turned into perpetual, unlawful overreach.”

Faitcloth's legal firm, The Rodrigue & Arcuri Law Group, issued a statement on the lawsuit as well. Their statement included the following:

“The people of New Orleans and our children have endured nearly two years of unprecedented control from our so-called city leaders. What started as a temporary means to protect the community from unknown risks of a virus has turned into a circus of mandates that no longer make sense to any rational person...Enough is enough. People all over our great state who live, work and worship in New Orleans are united in this effort to take back control of their lives and families.”

It's likely that the lawsuit will argue the effectiveness of masking and vaccines, and whether or not they balance against the burden of the mandates. The medical community has been clear that masking against COVID has not been what many thought it was previously in the pandemic. Additionally, COVID vaccines are not holding up the way the public expected either, including some countries who have used 4th booster doses.

The lawsuit will likely ask about these new realities, and are the mandates in place actually achieving a valuable trade-off for the harm they cause?

The lawsuit is asking the court to provide a temporary restraining order on the city's mandates right away. Which would suspend the mandate enforcement until the court decides to move forwards.