Two businesses have filed suit against officials from St. Louis County and city over claims the local officials do not have the authority to order the continuing shuttering of their premises.
SH3 Health Consulting, which runs Anytime Fitness, and Elder’s Antiques argued in court Wednesday that only the state has the authority to close premises during a statewide pandemic, and that the city and state orders are unlawful.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, asks for a temporary restraining order against county and city officials, including County Executive Sam Page, St. Louis Mayor of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, and health officers.
It follows the state's significant easing of restrictions that, from May 4, allows premises to reopen, with guidance to practice social distancing. Mayor Krewson and Page announced Wednesday the city and county will begin easing the restrictions May 18 but did not say whether all businesses will be allowed to re-open.
Under Gov. Mike Parson's order, local authorities can make further rules and regulations "not inconsistent" with those handed down by the state.
According to the suit: "However, in a statewide pandemic, only the director of the Department of Health and Senior Services or the director's designated representative shall have the authority to close a public or private school or other place of public or private assembly."
It is claimed that the orders by the county "violate plaintiffs’ rights to assembly, association, and due process. In the case of due process, the deprivation of Plaintiff’s property rights is conscience shocking and in violation of one or more fundamental rights that are deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition."
In a press conference held before the suit was filed, Allan Finnegan, the owner of Anytime Fitness, said that prior to the state order to close he had put in place social distancing measures, including allowing only a certain number of people in the gym and limiting where they could be on the premises.
According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, when asked whether a successful challenge will put people's live at risk, Finnegan's attorney, W. Bevis Schock, of the Schock Law Firm, said, "Probably. I mean, we're in a pandemic. People are going to die. That's what happens in pandemics."
He said, "I'm not questioning the science of this, because I don't know anything about the science of this. My job is to be a lawyer. My job is to say, 'Is there the authority for Sam Page and Mayor Krewson to say people like Mr. Finnegan can't open their gym and other nonessential businesses?'"