Judge awards Missouri $24 billion in lawsuit after China no-shows case
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -
A federal judge awarded the state of Missouri $24 billion in a lawsuit over China's alleged hoarding of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Judge Stephen Limbaugh in the Eastern District Court of Missouri sided with Attorney General Andrew Bailey in the state's years-long lawsuit against the country. The office claimed the Chinese government and several schools helped suppress information about the existence and spread of the COVID-19 virus in order to buy up equipment like masks ahead of the rest of the world.
The lawsuit started in April 2020 under then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt seeking damages from the country for the deaths and economic loss caused by the pandemic. Judge Limbaugh dismissed the case in 2022 on the grounds that federal law stopped U.S. courts from holding foreign governments responsible for certain "non-commercial, discretionary" acts. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals revived one of the counts dealing with PPE hoarding in January 2024.
None of the parties Missouri sued ever accepted service of the lawsuit nor did they file responses in the case. Limbaugh gave Missouri the victory by default and heard Bailey's arguments on damages in January.
“This is a landmark victory for Missouri and the United States in the fight to hold China accountable for unleashing COVID-19 on the world,” Bailey said in a statement on Friday. “China refused to show up to court, but that doesn’t mean they get away with causing untold suffering and economic devastation. We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland.”
The statement said Bailey's office would work with the Trump administration to identify Chinese-owned assets in the state for seizure. As for farmland, the Missouri Department of Agriculture reported 42,596 acres of land owned by Chinese individuals or companies in 2023. Department spokeswoman Christi Miller said the 2024 report detailing foreign-owned farmland would come out in the next few weeks.
