BUFFALO, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and gentlemen’s clubs have lost their challenge to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s social distancing requirements.
The group of nine businesses filed suit Aug. 7 in Buffalo federal court against Attorney General Letitia James and state lawmakers, accusing them of not properly reviewing Cuomo’s coronavirus executive orders.
They said there were at least 56 orders from Cuomo that haven’t been reviewed by the defendants to determine if they are actually legal.
But Judge William Skretny on Oct. 21 found that the plaintiffs failed to prove the orders were likely illegal and that the court shouldn't be tasked with deciding if they are.
“While it is no secret that reasonable minds can and do differ over what measures might be most effective and desirable in the fight against COVID-19, there is little room for debate in this forum,” Skretny wrote.
“(I)t is for the State to determine and implement, with wide latitude, such emergency measures as it deems reasonably necessary to protect the public welfare.
“This court would usurp the State’s police power and the function of another branch of government if it were to second-guess or substitute its judgment for that of the State’s.”
The complaint says Cuomo has created inconsistent reopening schedules that permit some businesses but not others from opening. Plaintiffs that are bowling alleys, pool halls and gyms complain they are not part of any reopening plan.
“The so-called executive orders are vague, inconsistent and contradictory, resulting in operational chaos for the plaintiffs herein,” the suit says.