Rhoades v. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC
| Decision Date | 03 December 2021 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-03391-JMC |
| Citation | 574 F.Supp.3d 322 |
| Parties | Shawn Phillip RHOADES, Joseph Franklin Dennis, Joshua Marshall Floyd, Bruce Allan Hickman, Stephen James Snyder, Michael Howard Derrick, Emily Roberson Skelley, Charles Gregory Springs, John N. Vinson, Jason Duane Hicks, Courie Jonathan Dennis, Kimberly Marie Vietmeier, Martha LeAnne Boettjer-Eyster, Jimmy Dale Furtick, Mary Williams Hall, Donna Brinson Stalcup, Michael Wiley Moulton, Jr., Laurie Aldrich Wood, Jeffrey John Grinnell, Vickie Lee Head, Victoria B Sininger, Chester Craig Gosney, Glenn Adam DeFrees, Penelope Rogers Fell, Thomas John Diaz, Stephen Judson Hall, Cynthia Powell Burke, Lori A. Roberts, Bryce Allen Roberts, Aubrie Jackson Norris Jr., Jeffrey Alan Klapper, Vanessa F. Rewis, Kerek Monroe Bearden, Timothy Levi Parker, George Ren Fell, Ross Roberson, Betty Jo Still, Richard Henry Turlington, Brittany Holsonback Parker, Michael Matthew Volpe, Franklin Wallace Odom, Stephanie Dianne Williams, Richard Douglas Posey, Joseph Williams Gentry Jr., Charisse Osborne Nagy, Joseph Mark Redd, Joshua Dane Gross, Dawn Michelle Cullen, Harry Charles Corey, John Louis Wilson, Bryan Reid Scott Jr, Hailey Alexis Hickman, Emmett Daniel Ferrell Jr., Roy Phillip Brock Jr., Christopher Daniel Herndon, Catherine Carter Lynn, Hayley Marie Williams, Jana Darnell Schroeder, Thomas Luther Googe, Clarence A Palmer, James Arnold Jones, Edward Lindsey Boozer Jr., Linda G Sparks, Ryan Alan Mann, Lawrence Elmer Jeffers, III, Richard Carlisle Holley, Tina Marie Wingfield, Christopher Samuel Bruce, John Mark LeMaster, Ginger Humphries-Hasek, Christina Cheree Fassari, Jason Marella, Michael Ray Andis, Jimmie Phillip Harmon, Jacob Benjamin Anderson, Benjamin James Wrett Thompson, Daniel Ryan Daniel, Dennis Paul Villemain, Emmalee Wall, James Mitchell Whittington, Jessica Steedley, Joel Lloyd Shaffer, Jonathan Brent Cole, Michael Bryan Roeber, Richard Perry Brown, Robert William Kirkland, Ryan Knight Wagner, Steven Mark Lawson, Teresa Arnwine, Tracy Eugene Stover Jr., and Troy Daren McClendon, Plaintiffs, v. SAVANNAH RIVER NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS, LLC, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina |
Donald Mitchell Brown, II, Brown & Associates, PLLC, Attorneys & Counselors at Law, Charlotte, NC, for Plaintiffs Shawn Phillip Rhoades, Joseph Franklin Dennis, Joshua Marshall Floyd, Bruce Allan Hickman, Stephen James Snyder, Michael Howard Derrick, Emily Roberson Skelley, Charles Gregory Springs, John N. Vinson, Jason Duane Hicks, Courie Jonathan Dennis, Kimberly Marie Vietmeier, Martha LeAnne Boettjer-Eyster, Jimmy Dale Furtick, Mary Williams Hall, Donna Brinson Stalcup, Michael Wiley Moulton, Jr., Laurie Aldrich Wood, Jeffrey John Grinnell, Vickie Lee Head, Victoria B. Sininger, Chester Craig Gosney, Glenn Adam DeFrees, Penelope Rogers Fell, Thomas John Diaz, Stephen Judson Hall, Cynthia Powell Burke, Lori A. Roberts, Bryce Allen Roberts, Aubrie Jackson Norris, Jr., Jeffrey Alan Klapper, Vanessa F. Rewis, Kerek Monroe Bearden, Timothy Levi Parker, George Ren Fell, Ross Roberson, Betty Jo Still, Richard Henry Turlington, Brittany Holsonback Parker, Michael Matthew Volpe, Franklin Wallace Odom, Stephanie Dianne Williams, Richard Douglas Posey, Joseph Williams Gentry, Jr., Charisse Osborne Nagy, Joseph Mark Redd, Joshua Dane Gross, Dawn Michelle Cullen, Harry Charles Corey, John Louis Wilson, Bryan Reid Scott, Jr., Hailey Alexis Hickman, Emmett Daniel Ferrell, Jr., Roy Phillip Brock, Jr., Christopher Daniel Herndon, Catherine Carter Lynn, Hayley Marie Williams, Jana Darnell Schroeder, Thomas Luther Googe, Clarence A. Palmer, James Arnold Jones, Edward Lindsey Boozer, Jr., Linda G. Sparks, Ryan Alan Mann, Lawrence Elmer Jeffers, III, Richard Carlisle Holley, Tina Marie Wingfield, Christopher Samuel Bruce, John Mark LeMaster, Ginger Humphries-Hasek, Christina Cheree Fassari, Jason Marella, Michael Ray Andis, Jimmie Phillip Harmon, Jacob Benjamin Anderson, Benjamin James Wrett Thompson, Daniel Ryan Daniel, Dennis Paul Villemain, Emmalee Wall, James Mitchell Whittington, Jessica Steedley, Joel Lloyd Shaffer, Jonathan Brent Cole, Michael Bryan Roeber, Richard Perry Brown, Robert William Kirkland, Ryan Knight Wagner, Steven Mark Lawson, Teresa Arnwine, Tracy Eugene Stover, Jr., Troy Daren McClendon.
Benjamin Patrick James Dudek, Michael Dennis Carrouth, John Hagood Tighe, Fisher and Phillips LLP, Columbia, SC, for Defendant.
J. Michelle Childs, United States District Judge This matter is before the court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Restraining Order. (ECF No. 14.) Plaintiffs ask the court to block implementation of Defendant Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC's ("SRNS") vaccine mandate (the "Mandate") for its employees. (Id. at 1.) For the reasons set forth below, the court DENIES Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Restraining Order.1 (ECF No. 14.)
1. This court has jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) because the action is between citizens of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds the sum of $75,000.00, exclusive of interests and costs.
2. Plaintiffs are citizens and residents of either Georgia or South Carolina. (ECF No. 2-1 at 5–15 ¶¶ 1–79.) SRNS is a limited liability company and, as such, its citizenship is determined by the citizenship of all of its members. Central W. Va. Energy Co., Inc. v. Mountain State Carbon, LLC , 636 F.3d 101, 103 (4th Cir. 2011). Further, a corporation [ ] "shall be deemed to be a citizen of any State by which it has been incorporated and of the State where it has its principal place of business." (Id. ) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1) ) (internal quotations omitted). SRNS states that its members are Fluor Federal Services, Inc.; Honeywell International, Inc.; and Newport News Nuclear, Inc. (ECF No. 2 at 4 ¶ 6.) SRNS alleges that Fluor Federal Services, Inc. is incorporated in Washington state and has its principal place of business in Virginia; Honeywell International, Inc. is incorporated in Delaware and has its principal place of business in North Carolina; and Newport News Nuclear, Inc. is incorporated and has its principal place of business in Virginia. (Id. ¶ 7.) Accordingly, complete diversity exists between the parties.
3. Moreover, after considering the Complaint's allegations, the court is satisfied that the amount in controversy requirement is met. "In actions seeking declaratory or injunctive relief, it is well established that the amount in controversy is measured by the value of the object of the litigation." Hunt v. Wash. State Apple Advert. Comm'n , 432 U.S. 333, 347, 97 S.Ct. 2434, 53 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977). In the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, "the test for determining the amount in controversy in a diversity proceeding ‘is the pecuniary result to either party which [a] judgment would produce.’ " Dixon v. Edwards , 290 F.3d 699, 711 (4th Cir. 2002) ). The object of the present litigation is SRNS's vaccine mandate, and the value of the Mandate is measured by the potential losses that follow its enforcement. Plaintiffs allege that if the Mandate is enforced, they stand to lose their livelihood, their salaries, and in some cases their health benefits if they do not take the vaccine. (ECF No. 9 at 41 ¶ 230.) The collective salaries and benefits of the seventy-nine (79) Plaintiffs well exceed $75,000.00.
1. In December 2019 and January 2020, COVID-19 began to spread in the United States on its way to pandemic proportions. (ECF No. 26 at 17.) In South Carolina alone, there have been approximately 919,127 COVID-19 cases and 14,233 deaths due to COVID-19. COVID Data Tracker , CDC, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_totalcases & https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_totaldeaths (last visited Dec. 3, 2021).2
2. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus. COVID-19 is spread in three main ways: breathing in air when close to an infected person who is exhaling small droplets and particles that contain the virus; having these small droplets and particles that contain virus land on the eyes, nose, or mouth, especially through splashes and sprays like a cough
or sneeze; and touching eyes, nose, or mouth with hands that have the virus on them. How COVID-19 Spreads , https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html (last visited Nov. 23, 2021).
3. In February 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") declared a public emergency and instructed the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") to grant emergency use authorizations ("EUA") for medical devices and interventions, including vaccines, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. See 85 Fed. Reg. 7316-01, 7316-17 (2020) ; 85 Fed. Reg. 18250-01, 18250-51 (2020).
4. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. See WHO Director-General's Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19 , World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020 (last visited Dec. 3, 2021).
5. On March 13, 2020, President Trump pronounced "the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant an emergency declaration for all states, tribes, territories, and the District of Columbia, pursuant to section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121 - 5207." FEMA COVID-19 Emergency Declaration , https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2020/03/13/covid-19-emergency-declaration (last visited ...
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