We are happy to announce that we have won a victory in our lawsuit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals. As you may recall, We The Patriots USA fully funded a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical giant back in 2022, on behalf of nine employees who were fired for refusing the company’s covid shot mandate on religious grounds.
Today a federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts issued a decision denying Takeda’s motion for summary judgment in its entirety:
After considering the parties’ written submissions and oral arguments, the defendant’s [51] motion for summary judgment is DENIED in its entirety. The defendant’s arguments that the plaintiffs “did not have sincerely-held religious beliefs precluding them from compliance with the Vaccine Policy” and that “[t]he undisputed evidence demonstrates that there was no reasonable accommodation available to [p]laintiffs that would not cause Takeda to suffer undue hardship,” (Mem. in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J., 21 et seq. and 38 et seq. (dkt. no. 52),) are vigorously opposed by the plaintiffs. (See Pls.’ Mem. in Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J., 13 et seq. and 19 et seq. (dkt. no. 59).)
“[S]ummary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is ‘genuine,’ that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986) (citation omitted). The parties’ factual and legal disputes cannot be resolved short of trial.
Although this is not a final judgment, this is a major step forward in our pursuit of justice in this case, as it allows the plaintiffs to proceed to trial. Takeda will now have the burden of proving that granting the plaintiffs a reasonable accommodation due to their religious beliefs would have posed an undue hardship under the heightened standard articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Groff v. DeJoy.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters for their generous contributions to our organization, which made this lawsuit – and today’s victory – possible. None of this would have happened without their support.
But there is still much work to do. We are now preparing for trial, and with trial comes additional legal expenses. If you’re able to do so, we would greatly appreciate a gift of any amount to support our continued legal efforts. Gifts to our nonprofit organization are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. tax law.
Many thanks to our brilliant legal team at Pattis & Paz and Mendenhall Law Group for their hard work in securing this victory.