Air Evac secures preliminary injunction against Commissioner of Insurance for State of West Virginia

Client(s) Global Medical Response, Inc.

Jones Day secured a preliminary injunction for Global Medical Response, Inc. subsidiary Air Evac EMS, Inc. (“Air Evac”) against the Commissioner of Insurance for the State of West Virginia. Air Evac operates as an emergency air ambulance provider and offers a prepaid, discounted Membership Program for residents, businesses, municipalities and counties where it operates. The West Virginia Office of the Insurance Commissioner (“OIC”) filed an administrative complaint against Air Evac seeking to prevent Air Evac from offering the Membership Program. To enjoin these efforts, Air Evac filed a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, where it argued that the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (“ADA”) preempts any state law applicable to the Membership Program. Following extensive briefing by the parties, the Court granted Air Evac a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction and enjoined the West Virginia Insurance Commissioner from enforcing the insurance regulations against Air Evac and its operation of the Membership Program, pending resolution of the ADA preemption issue. Air Evac also overcame standing and abstention challenges.

Air Evac EMS, Inc. v. Dodrill, 2:21-cv-00105 (S.D.W.Va. 2021)