Lawsuit Accusing Verizon of Spreading COVID-19 Preempted, Ga. Federal Judge Rules

ATLANTA — A Georgia federal judge has dismissed a proposed class action in which Verizon Wireless Services was accused of spreading the COVID-19 virus during its installation of 5G network equipment, ruling that the claims are preempted by federal law.

In a Jan. 19 order, Judge Leigh M. May of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia concluded that the claims are preempted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which bars state and local governments from supplementing or supplanting the FCC’s determinations with their own.

Verizon is in the process of installing 5G network equipment in plaintiff …