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On September 1, 2020, the CDC issued an Order that becomes effective September 4, 2020 prohibiting the eviction of any covered person from any jurisdiction to which this Order applies which is basically the United States.

However, a covered person means any tenant or resident of a residential property who provides to their landlord, the owner of the residential property or other person with a legal right to pursue eviction or a possessory action, a declaration under penalty of perjury indicating that:

1. The individual has used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing;

2. The individual either expects to earn no more than $99,000.00 in annual income for 2020 or no more than $198,000.00 if filing a joint tax return, was not required to report any income in 2019 to the IRS or received an economic impact (stimulus check) pursuant to Section 2201 of the CARES Act;

3. The individual is unable to pay the full rent or make a full housing payment due to substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, a layoff, or extraordinary out of pocket medical expenses;

4. The individual is using best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the full payment as the individual’s circumstances may permit, taking into account other non-discretionary expenses; and

5. Eviction would likely render the individual homeless or force the individual to move into and live in close quarters. This Order does not include foreclosure on a home mortgage. These persons are still required to pay rent and follow all other terms of their lease and rules of the place where they live. The temporary halt on evictions runs through December 31, 2020.

Criminal Penalties

A person violating this Order may be subject to a fine of no more than $100,000.00 if the violation does not result in death or one year in jail or both or a fine of no more than $250,000.00 if the violation results in a death or one year in jail or both. An organization violating this Order may be subject to a fine of no more than $200,000.00 per event if the violation does not result in death or $500,000.00 per event if the violation results in death or as otherwise provided by law.

The CDC Order provides an Affidavit for the tenant to sign stating that under penalty of perjury they have satisfied the requirements of the Order.

It is my understanding that until the tenant provides the landlord with a copy of the signed Affidavit that the landlord may still evict the tenant. However, once they are given that Affidavit the landlord may not evict the tenant although they may sue the tenant for back rent and obtain a judgment for money since the Order explicitly says it “has no effect on the contractual obligations of renters to pay rent and shall not preclude charging or collecting fees, penalties or interest as a result of the failure to pay rent or other housing payment on a timely basis.”

By: Matthew M. McKeon

*Note: due to the rapidly evolving government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this article may not be current at the time it is read. Readers seeking additional information may contact the author at [email protected].

On June 3, 2020, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (the “LCB”) issued a press release  and the second revised Advisory Notice No. 26 announcing that liquor licensees could apply for a temporary extension of their licensed premises to include additional outdoor areas.  This would allow licensees to legally sell and serve alcohol to patrons in these outdoor areas.  The LCB’s announcement follows Governor Wolf’s May 27, 2020 guidelines allowing restaurants in counties which are in the “yellow” phase of the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 reopening process to begin dine-in service in outdoor areas on June 5, 2020.

Licensees are advised to read the LCB’s press release and the second revised Advisory Notice No. 26 to learn all relevant information regarding this application.  Important aspects of this temporary measure include the following:

• Applicable licenses: This application is available to licenses for restaurants, hotels, clubs, catering clubs, retail dispensers, distilleries, limited distilleries, wineries, limited wineries, and breweries.

• Outdoor Areas Affected: The temporary extension of the premises only applies to outdoor areas immediately adjacent to, abutting and contiguous to the existing licensed premises. This excludes any outdoor areas which are separated from a licensed premises by a public thoroughfare. If the outdoor area to be licensed is not under the licensee’s control (for example, a municipal sidewalk) then the licensee must provide proof of their right to occupy the area (such as a permit or other authorization from the municipality).

• Automatic Authorization Upon Posting of Printed Confirmation Page:  After the licensee submits the application on the LCB’s website (see instructions below) the licensee will see a confirmation screen stating that the application was successfully submitted for processing. The licensee shall print and post this confirmation screen as directed, whereupon they will automatically have temporary authority to operate on the proposed outdoor area. The licensee will also be directed to post a Notice of Application. Distilleries, limited distilleries, wineries, limited wineries and breweries do not need to post a Notice of Application but must display the LCB’s email stating the application was accepted.

• Duration: The initial authority for a temporary extension will last until one of the following occurs: (1) the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration ends; (2) the LCB receives a protest or petition to intervene in opposition to a particular application; or (3) the LCB informs the licensee that the authority has otherwise come to an end.  However, licensees can also apply for a permanent extension of the licensed premises under the normal procedures.

• Plan Required: Like an application to permanently extend the licensed premises, the licensee seeking a temporary extension must also submit a plan of the outdoor area as directed by the online application.

• No Fee for Temporary Extension Application: However, the normal application fee applies if the licensee is applying for a permanent extension of the licensed premises.

Licensees can apply by logging into the LCB website, clicking “Other Licenses Changes / Amendments” under the “Existing Licenses” section, selecting their license, and scrolling to “EMERGENCY TEMPORARY EXTENSION”.  Licensees will then be prompted to answer questions and submit the necessary plan to complete their application.

If you are unsure about any aspect of the LCB’s temporary extension of premises application or have other questions about the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on your license, please contact MacElree Harvey, Ltd. by emailing Matthew McKeon at [email protected]. This article provides a general overview of the law. It is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal advice for any particular fact situation.

By: Tim Rayne, Esquire

On May 6, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed an Executive Order granting broad civil immunity from malpractice lawsuits arising out of care provided to Covid-19 patients.

The immunity covers individual healthcare workers including doctors, nurses, hospital technicians, nursing home employees and other healthcare workers who have been involved in providing treatment to COVID-19 victims. The Order extends the civil immunity from liability afforded to state employees to individual healthcare workers, making them immune from claims of injury or death caused by their carelessness or negligence in the treatment of COVID-19.  This means that individual healthcare workers cannot be sued for malpractice arising out of negligent care of  COVID-19 patients.

The immunity for  healthcare providers covers only negligent/careless conduct and the providers are not immune from claims for willful misconduct (like assault or sexual assault) or gross negligence, which is negligence far beyond simple carelessness.

In addition, the Executive Order does not grant immunity to nursing homes or hospitals but, instead, only to individual healthcare workers. This means that facilities can still be held accountable and victims can still be compensated for injuries caused by negligent conduct.

Healthcare industry advocates argue that the Executive Order should have gone farther by granting comprehensive immunity to both individual healthcare workers and hospitals and nursing homes during this COVID-19 crisis.

However, victims rights advocates counter that comprehensive immunity is unfair because it leaves the victim of negligent care to bear the burden of their injuries rather than holding the negligent people and entities accountable.  Also it would be particularly unfair given that hospitals and nursing homes have protected themselves by purchasing insurance which means that the immunity would result in a windfall for the insurance companies by barring claims.

In the end, this might be a fair compromise because it protects potentially overworked doctors and nurses from individual liability during this national crisis but still hold holds facilities accountable for their negligence and does not leave the families of victims stuck with the consequences of negligent care.