Here come the lawsuits
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Replacing that something borrowed, something blue that flourishes during wedding season is someone angry, someone sued as wedding-related lawsuits continue to make headlines in light of COVID-19 restrictions.
In Holland, Michigan, a couple and their venue are suing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, arguing their wedding ceremony scheduled for Friday is a religious service and should be exempt from the state’s limits on gatherings, according to the suit.
Their plans arguably violate Gov. Whitmer’s executive order limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 100. Efforts to convince the local health department to allow the ceremony – in an old furniture warehouse-turned-wedding-venue, a site the owners say could be described as a “de facto” church – resulted in a cease and desist letter instead.
In St. Louis, Missouri, a couple is suing a wedding venue for not refunding a $3,500 deposit after they decided they no longer want their 160-person reception there on Oct. 10 due to the pandemic, according to an article posted Tuesday on St. Louis-based KMOV4’s website.
The two cases join a string of lawsuits being filed across the country over canceled weddings, according to media reports, including a New Jersey couple suing a restaurant over a $17,500 reception they can no longer have, and a Virginia wedding venue suing the state over restrictions that it says have resulted in $900,000 in business losses.
More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.
