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Marines COVID vaccine class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: A federal judge in Florida granted class action status and a preliminary injunction to U.S. Marines arguing against the Department of Defense’s COVID vaccine mandate.
- Why: The judge disagreed with the Marine Corps argument that federal courts should not have jurisdiction over military matters and that its discretion could not be curtailed by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
- Where: The Marines COVID vaccine class action lawsuit was filed in Florida federal court.
A Florida federal judge granted class action status to a complaint made by U.S. Marines arguing against the Department of Defense’s COVID vaccine mandate.
Judge Steven Merryday of the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Tampa Division also granted a preliminary injunction for both active and reserve duty Marines who had previously been denied religious exemptions from having to get the COVID vaccine, the Southern Maryland Chronicle reports.
The class is defined as Marine Corps members who are both active or reserve duty and who submitted a “timely” request for religious exemption to the vaccine mandate that was denied.
Eligible class members must also have submitted a timely appeal to the initial exemption denial and either been denied or expected to be denied on appeal, the Southern Maryland Chronicle reports.
Marines class action claims religious exemptions only granted to those already planning to retire
A total of 3,733 Marines reportedly requested religious exemption, according to federal data, with only 11 exemptions ultimately being granted for service members who had already been planning to retire.
Judge Merrday says that issuing a classwide injunction is warranted to “preserve the status quo, to permit the full development of the record without prejudice to the plaintiffs and to permit both a trial and a detailed, fact-based resolution of the controlling issues of fact and law,” the Southern Maryland Chronicle reports.
The Marine Corps, along with other branches of the military, have reportedly argued that federal courts should not have jurisdiction over military-related matters and that their discretion should not be reduced by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Multiple federal judges in several states have disagreed with the argument, however, ruling that the precedent being cited was from a case conducted 40 years before the RFRA was enacted by Congress, the Southern Maryland Chronicle reports.
In related Marines news, last month, President Joe Biden signed into law the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, enabling military veterans exposed to contaminated water at North Carolina’s Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune to file civil lawsuits against the federal government.
If you or a loved one suffered from health issues after exposure to Camp Lejeune toxic water, you may be able to learn about your legal rights with the help of lawyers working with Top Class Actions.
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