An assisted living facility accused of failing to follow COVID-19 protocols as part of a wrongful death suit will be sent to a Florida state court as the defendants were not acting under a federal official, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled last week.

In a 2-1 decision, Eleventh Circuit majority issued an opinion Oct. 31 finding that the Grand Villa of Delray East did not qualify as a "federal actor" during the pandemic and that the defendants are not entitled to federal jurisdiction against claims that their gross negligence led to a woman's death from the virus in 2020. The court's ruling in Schleider v. GVDB Operations is consistent with the recent rulings by the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fifth and Ninth circuits on federal designees.