COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019)

COVID-19, short for coronavirus disease 2019, is a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The CDC notes it can be very contagious and spreads quickly. Illness ranges from mild cold-like symptoms to severe pneumonia, and some people have lasting symptoms known as long COVID.

Beyond its health impact, the pandemic produced a wave of litigation that is still winding through the courts and settlement administrators. Major categories include:

• Refund cases: students seeking partial tuition refunds after campuses closed, and consumers seeking refunds for canceled flights, events, gym memberships, and travel.
• Insurance cases: businesses suing over denied business interruption insurance claims, which insurers mostly won.
• Lending and relief cases: claims about how banks handled relief programs, mortgage forbearance, and small business loans.
• Workplace and care cases: wrongful death claims involving nursing homes and workplaces, often limited by state and federal immunity laws.

A good example is the Wells Fargo CARES Act settlement, which resolved claims about how the bank credit-reported California borrowers who took mortgage forbearance under the pandemic relief law. Many COVID-era cases have already closed, so check the claim deadline before assuming money is still available.

If you received a notice about a pandemic-related settlement, verify it on the official settlement website named in the notice and watch out for settlement scams. Our guide to types of class action lawsuits covers how these claims fit into the bigger picture.