Christian D. McCarthy and Dylan Braverman moved to dismiss, prior to answering the complaint, claims for wrongful death, malpractice, and statutory violations against a New York Catholic nursing home. The plaintiff alleged that the patient was exposed to and died from COVID-19 while residing at the facility.

In support of the motion, the claims were addressed pre-answer through an affirmation from the attending physician responsible for the patient’s care, which detailed the impact of COVID-19 on the facility and asserted that the nursing home was entitled to immunity under the Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act (EDTPA) and the PREP Act. The court found that, in addition to the physician’s affirmation, the defendant’s evidentiary submissions conclusively established good-faith compliance with applicable COVID-19 guidelines and therefore dismissed the claims pursuant to the EDTPA and PREP Act immunities.