G.S. v. Bill Lee

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 14, 2023
Docket22-5969
StatusUnpublished

This text of G.S. v. Bill Lee (G.S. v. Bill Lee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
G.S. v. Bill Lee, (6th Cir. 2023).

Opinion

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 23a0370n.06

Case No. 22-5969 FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Aug 14, 2023 FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk

) G.S., by and through his parents and next friends, ) Brittany and Ryan Schwaigert, et al, ) Plaintiffs-Appellees, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT v. ) COURT FOR THE WESTERN ) DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE BILL LEE, Governor, ) Defendant-Appellant. ) OPINION )

Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; DAVIS and MATHIS, Circuit Judges.

DAVIS, Circuit Judge. Shelby County issued a mask mandate to protect against the

continued spread of COVID-19 during a state-declared state of emergency stemming from the high

rates of transmission. Days later, the Governor of Tennessee signed an executive order permitting

students and their parents to opt out of the County’s mask mandate as applied to grade-school

students in academic settings. Shelby County subsequently recognized the executive order as an

exception to the mask mandate. Consequently, hundreds of grade-school students in Shelby

County started attending schools without face coverings. Three grade-school students with

disabilities sued the Governor and Shelby County on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly

situated individuals to challenge the executive order and the County’s failure to enforce its mask

mandate in academic settings. The students requested declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging

that they faced heightened risks of death or serious injury in the event of exposure to the virus, and Case No. 22-5969, G.S., et al. v. Lee

accordingly required reasonable accommodations in the form of face coverings for other students

in their proximity. The district court granted a preliminary injunction, but the case became moot

before it ruled on the students’ request for a permanent injunction. It then awarded attorneys’ fees

to the students based on their preliminary relief. The Governor appeals the fee award, contending

that the students are not “prevailing parties” as required by the relevant fee-shifting statutes. For

the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM.

I.

On August 6, 2021, as the nation contemplated and navigated the transition from quarantine

practices back to in-person interactions, the Shelby County Health Department issued Amended

Health Order No. 24 (“AHO No. 24”). Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-2-609(4), which

authorizes county health officials to issue general health and safety orders, AHO No. 24 purported

to address the County’s consistently high rates of positive COVID-19 cases that constituted a

public health emergency. The order provided guidance on several measures to protect against

COVID-19 including universal masking for persons entering indoor areas of K–12 schools, Pre-K

schools, and daycare facilities.

On August 16, 2021, ten days after the county issued AHO No. 24, Bill Lee, the Governor

of Tennessee, signed Executive Order No. 84 (“EO No. 84”) which permitted grade-school

students and their parents to opt out of AHO No. 24’s mask mandate in academic settings. In

response, the Shelby County Health Department issued Amended Health Order No. 25 (“AHO No.

25”), which listed EO No. 84 as an exception to the County’s masking requirement. As a result,

Shelby County stopped enforcing the mask-mandate at schools, and hundreds of grade-school

students started attending schools with no face coverings.

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On August 27, 2021, two Shelby County students with disabilities, G.S. and S.T, sued

Governor Lee and the County in federal court on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly

situated students, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief relating to Shelby County’s masking

practices. The students brought claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, alleging that they had medical conditions which increased

their risk of death or serious complications in the event of exposure to COVID-19. The students

further alleged that some of the purported class members were under age 12, rendering them

ineligible for COVID-19 vaccinations according to the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”)

regulations. The students sought relief, including: (1) a declaration that EO No. 84 was in violation

of both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act; (2) a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) enjoining

the Governor and the State of Tennessee from permitting parents to opt out of Shelby County’s

mask mandate; (3) preliminary and permanent injunctions enjoining the same; and (4) reasonable

attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses.

On the same day they filed suit, the students also filed a motion for a TRO and a preliminary

injunction against the Governor and Shelby County. The district court granted the TRO first, and

a preliminary injunction shortly after, holding separate hearings for each. During the TRO hearing,

G.S.’s mother testified that Shelby County grade schools had been enforcing the AHO No. 24

mask mandate but stopped after the Governor issued EO No. 84. As a result, her son who needs

to interact with neurotypical peers according to his individualized education plan was no longer

getting those interactions. At the time of the TRO hearing, 22% of students had opted out of the

County’s mask mandate at S.T.’s school. S.T.’s mother testified that S.T. had been excluded from

participating in certain classes because other students were not wearing masks. Additionally, one

of the students’ experts testified about the effectiveness of masks in reducing the risk of exposure

-3- Case No. 22-5969, G.S., et al. v. Lee

to COVID-19, especially with respect to students with disabilities who face a higher risk of death.

The parties also briefed the TRO motion before the hearing and provided supplemental briefing

afterwards.

At the preliminary-injunction hearing, the students relied on the evidence and testimony

they presented at the TRO hearing. For his part, the Governor offered Theresa Nicholls, the

Assistant Commissioner of Special Populations at the Tennessee Department of Education, as a

witness. The students also amended their complaint on the day of the hearing to add a third student,

J.M., as a plaintiff. Like the other named students, J.M. has a disability that places her at a

heightened risk of death or serious complications in the event of COVID-19 exposure.

The district court granted the students’ request for a preliminary injunction on September

17, 2021. In doing so, the court enjoined the Governor from enforcing EO No. 84 or otherwise

allowing parties to opt out of the County’s mask mandate, ordered Shelby County to enforce AHO

No. 24, and noted that the injunction would be in effect until terminated by a final order or

otherwise dissolved by the court. Shelby County subsequently moved for judgment on the

pleadings. The district court granted Shelby County’s motion and dismissed the County from the

lawsuit. As for Governor Lee, he appealed the district court’s order granting a preliminary

injunction and requested a stay pending resolution of his appeal. When the district court denied

the Governor’s motion to stay, he requested a stay from this court. On November 12, 2021, while

his stay motion was pending in this court, the Tennessee General Assembly enacted the COVID-

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