Estate of Middleton v. CLR Troy LLC

Summary

The Appellate Division, Third Department, held that CLR Troy LLC established immunity under New York's Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act for claims arising from its provision of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court also held that the plaintiff's claims for gross negligence and pre-pandemic negligence were inadequately pleaded. It reversed the order denying dismissal and dismissed the complaint against CLR Troy LLC.

Holdings

1. CLR Troy LLC's documentary proof conclusively established all three requirements for immunity under Public Health Law former § 3082(1): it provided health care services pursuant to applicable COVID-19 rules or law, the care was affected by its pandemic-related decisions and activities in support of state directives, and it acted in good faith. The defendant was therefore entitled to EDTPA immunity for claims arising during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. The gross-negligence and pre-COVID negligence claims were not adequately pleaded because they consisted of bare legal conclusions without factual specificity. Those claims therefore could not survive the motion to dismiss.

Questions Presented

1. Whether CLR Troy LLC established entitlement to immunity under the Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act for claims arising from its provision of care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Whether the complaint adequately pleaded gross negligence and negligence occurring before the COVID-19 pandemic, the claims that would otherwise survive EDTPA immunity.

Disposition

reversed