The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Indiana
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Ind. Const. art. 4; Title 34 (Civil Law and Procedure), Article 30 (Immunity from Civil Liability), chapters 32 (Civil Immunity Related to COVID-19) and 33 (COVID-19 Related Products Liability)
- Issued
- 2021-02-18 Feb. 18, 2021
- Effective
- 2021-02-18, retroactive to causes of action accruing on or after 2020-03-01 (read as 2021-02-18)
- End
- 2024-12-31 (section 11); standing throughout 2021 Q1 (from Feb. 18) to 2021 Q3 and retroactively covering 2020 Q2 through 2021 Q1 (read as 2024-12-31)
- In force
- Standing since Feb. 18, 2021 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Standing dutyOperating conditionOther
- Addressees
- persons generally; employers; owners or operators of premises; sponsors of activities; manufacturers and suppliers of COVID-19 protective products (chapter 33)
- Character
- liability shield condition
- Collection
- Standing duties: Indiana DUT-IN
Operative words
a person is immune from civil tort liability for damages arising from COVID-19: (1) on the premises owned or operated by the person;... This chapter does not grant immunity from civil tort liability to a person whose actions or omissions constitute gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct (including fraud and intentionally tortious acts) as proven by clear and convincing evidence.
Penalty
Not a penal statute. Its operative consequence is that ordinary-negligence claims arising from COVID-19 are barred while claims for gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct proven by clear and convincing evidence proceed; class actions for tort damages arising from COVID-19 are prohibited (section 10).
What it required
The statute grants tort immunity to every person (including corporations, LLCs, nonprofits and political subdivisions) for damages 'arising from COVID-19' on premises they own or operate, on premises where they provide property or services, and in activities they manage, organize or sponsor; it withholds that immunity where the person's 'actions or omissions constitute gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct'; it does not apply to claims under the Worker's Compensation, Occupational Diseases, Occupational Health and Safety (IC 22-8) or Unemployment Compensation statutes (section 8(b)), so the IOSHA duty (Ex. DUT-IN-005) is untouched by the shield.
Retrieval noteRecorded exactly: the Indiana shield contains no express condition of compliance with governmental health standards or guidance; its condition is the gross-negligence and willful-or-wanton-misconduct exception of section 7, which Indiana courts define as a 'conscious, voluntary act or omission in reckless disregard' of the consequences to another. The governmental protocols (Governor's orders, IDOH control measures, IOSHA's general-duty enforcement against CDC business guidance) therefore supplied the conduct against which reckless disregard was measured. The signing date of Feb. 18, 2021 and the effective-on-passage clause are verified from contemporaneous law-firm and press accounts (Faegre Drinker, Feb. 19, 2021; WFYI); the codified text, the March 1, 2020 accrual date and the Dec. 31, 2024 expiration are read in the saved exhibit. Chapter 33 (COVID-19 protective products) and chapter 13.5 (health care providers during a disaster emergency, HEA 1002) are in the same saved Article.