Declaration of Michael Goodwin — Heights Apartments, LLC v. Walz (D. Minn.)

Summary

The Declaration of Michael Goodwin, an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota representing Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, filed October 16, 2020 as Doc. 13 in Heights Apartments, LLC v. Tim Walz, Case 0:20-cv-02051-NEB-DJF, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The declaration identifies attached exhibits, including publications from the World Health Organization, the CDC and the Minnesota Department of Health, news articles, a March 13, 2020 national emergency proclamation, and state court orders such as Buzzell v. Walz, Case No. 62-CV-20-3623. It reports that the Minnesota Department of Health page reflected 2,199 total deaths and 117,106 positive tests as of October 15, 2020, and that the CDC site showed 216,025 total deaths in the United States. The final numbered exhibit is Exhibit 23, and the declaration is six pages.

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           CASE 0:20-cv-02051-NEB-DJF Doc. 13 Filed 10/16/20 Page 1 of 6




                         UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                               DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA


Heights Apartments, LLC, and Walnut             Court File No. 20-CV-02051 (NEB/BRT)
Trails, LLLP,

                     Plaintiffs,

      v.                                                          DECLARATION OF
                                                                MICHAEL GOODWIN
Tim Walz, in his individual and his official
capacity as Governor of the State of
Minnesota, and Keith Ellison, in his
individual and his official capacity as
Attorney General of the State of Minnesota,
and John Doe,

                     Defendants.

      MICHAEL GOODWIN states as follows:

      1.       I am an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota and represent

Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison in this matter.

      2.       I make this declaration in good faith based on my knowledge of the facts

set forth herein, and on documents that are publicly available, but provided here for the

convenience of the Court and the parties.

      3.       Attached as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of the World Health

Organization’s website publication Coronavirus Overview, available online at

www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1.

      4.       Attached as Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of the U.S. Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention’s (“CDC”) online publication How COVID-19 Spreads,
            CASE 0:20-cv-02051-NEB-DJF Doc. 13 Filed 10/16/20 Page 2 of 6




available online at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-

spreads.html.

       5.          Attached as Exhibit 3 is a true and correct copy of L. Morawska and D.

Milton, It is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of COVID-19, CLIN. INFECT. DIS.,

2020        Jul.     6,   available        online        at       https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-

article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa939/5867798.

       6.          Attached     as    Exhibit      4    is    a    true   and   correct    copy   of   the

Minnesota          Department        of   Health       website      publication,   About     Coronavirus

Disease 2019 (COVID-19), www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/basics.html.

       7.          The Minnesota Department of Health has been gathering and publishing

daily data about the impact of COVID-19 on our state. That information is available at a

webpage called “Situation Update for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)”, at

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/situation.html. I visited that page on

October 15 after 11 a.m., when it is updated, and reviewed the “deaths data table”

(health.state.mn/diseases/coronavirus/situation.html#death1), which reflected 2,199 total

deaths. The Situation Update page also identified that 117,106 Minnesotans have tested

positive for COVID-19 as of October 15, 2020.

       8.          The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) gathers and

publishes data each day about the impact of COVID-19 on our country. That information

is available online at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-

us.html. I visited that website after 2 p.m. on October 15, 2020, and it identified 216,025

total deaths in the United States from COVID-19.

                                                        2
            CASE 0:20-cv-02051-NEB-DJF Doc. 13 Filed 10/16/20 Page 3 of 6




       9.       Attached as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of Christopher Snowbeck,

New Minnesota COVID-19 milestone shows significant amount of virus transmission,

health officials say, (Star Tribune, Oct. 11. 2020).

       10.      Attached as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of Donald J. Trump,

Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus

Disease      (COVID-19)      Outbreak,    March        13,   2020,   available   online    at

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-declaring-national-emergency-

concerning-novel-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak/.

       11.      Attached as Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of the University of

Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation COVID-19 projections for

Minnesota, available       online at         https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-

america/minnesota.

       12.      Attached as Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of true and correct copy of

the University of Minnesota, Office of the Vice President for Research, Center for

Infectious Disease Research and Policy (“CIDRAP”) report, dated July 31, 2020,

regarding the future of the COVID-19 pandemic.

       13.      Attached as Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of Coleman, J., All 50

states under disaster declaration for first time in US history, The Hill, April 12, 2020,

available online at https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/492433-all-

50-states-under-disaster-declaration-for-first.




                                              3
        CASE 0:20-cv-02051-NEB-DJF Doc. 13 Filed 10/16/20 Page 4 of 6




      14.    Attached as Exhibit 10 is a true and correct copy of Free Minnesota Small

Business Coalition v. Walz, Order and Memorandum, Court File No. 62-CV-20-3507

(Ramsey Cnty. Dist. Ct.). This order was appealed September 10, 2020.

      15.    Attached as Exhibit 11 is a true and correct copy of Ellison v. Schiffler et

al, Case No. 73-CV-20-3556, Order (Minn. Dist Ct., June 2, 2020).

      16.    Attached as Exhibit 12 is a true and correct copy of Ellison v. Schiffler et

al, Case No. 73-CV-20-3556, Answer and Counterclaim (Minn. Dist Ct.). A motion to

dismiss on the defendants’ counterclaims was heard August 28, 2020.

      17.    Attached as Exhibit 13 is a true and correct copy of In re Proposed Recall

Petition to Request the Recall of Timothy James Walz, Case No. A20-0748, Order (Minn.

June 15, 2020).

      18.    Attached as Exhibit 14 is a true and correct copy of In re Proposed Recall

Petition to Request the Recall of Timothy James Walz, Case No. A20-0984, Order (Minn.

August 13, 2020).

      19.    Attached as Exhibit 15 is a true and correct copy of In re Proposed Recall

Petition to Request the Recall of Timothy James Walz, Case No. A20-1231, Order (Minn.

August 13, 2020).

      20.    Attached as Exhibit 16 is a true and correct copy of Order and

Memorandum, Buzzell v. Walz, Ramsey County Case No. 62-CV-20-3623 (Oct. 9, 2020).

      21.    Attached as Exhibit 17 is a true and correct copy of Cases With An

Eviction Judgment In Minnesota (Preliminary Analysis), available online at

http://www.mnhousing.gov/get/MHFA_244956.

                                           4
           CASE 0:20-cv-02051-NEB-DJF Doc. 13 Filed 10/16/20 Page 5 of 6




         22.   Attached as Exhibit 18 is a true and correct copy of Olson, Jeremy, and

Smith, Mary Lynn, Minnesota reports 29 COVID-19 deaths, new antigen test data, (Star

Tribune, Oct. 15, 2020.)

         23.   Attached as Exhibit 19 is a true and correct copy of the World Health

Organization Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 -

11 March 2020, available online at www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-

general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020.

         24.   Attached as Exhibit 20 is a true and correct copy of Evans, Marisa, Courts

suspend some housing actions amid coronavirus concerns, (Star Tribune, March 13,

2020).

         25.   Attached as Exhibit 21 is a true and correct copy of a document entitled

Scientific Brief: SARS-CoV-2 and Potential Airborne Transmission, which is available at

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief-sars-cov-2.html.

         26.   Attached as Exhibit 22 is a true and correct copy of a printout from the

website of the National Governors Association entitled Status of State COVID-19

Emergency Orders. The website is available at https://www.nga.org/state-covid-19-

emergency-orders/ and was last visited on October 16, 2020.

         27.   Attached as Exhibit 23 is a true and correct copy of a letter from local

elected officials to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Peggy Flanagan, dated September

8, 2020.

         28.   The National Health Care for the Homeless Council and its standing

Research Committee partner with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

                                            5
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to collect data from universal testing events at shelter or encampment-based service sites

during the COVID-19 pandemic. The website for this partnership is located at

https://nhchc.org/cdc-covid-dashboard/home/ and contains data reflecting COVID-19

testing positivity rates for homeless shelter clients. I visited this website on October 16,

2020. Under the heading “State-Level COVID-19 Testing and Positivity Trends” it

stated that the client positivity rate for Minnesota is 7.48 percent as of September 24,

2020. The client positivity rate for Iowa is 69.81 percent.

         29.       Unless otherwise indicated, each of the links referenced herein was last

visited on October 15, 2020.

I DECLARE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY THAT EVERYTHING I HAVE
STATED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT.


                                              s/ Michael Goodwin
                                              MICHAEL GOODWIN


Dated: October 16, 2020

County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota



|#4819001-v1




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