NC judge denies bar owners’ request to reopen in Phase Two of COVID-19 rules
Bars in North Carolina will remain closed during Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan, a judge ruled Friday.
The North Carolina Bar & Tavern Association, a group of nearly 200 bars, sued Gov. Roy Cooper in an effort to reopen their businesses alongside restaurants as part of Phase Two.
Their request for a preliminary injunction was denied Friday by Judge James Gale, who ruled that Cooper was within his rights as governor to choose to keep bars closed as a means of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
“While the Governor’s choices may be debatable, at this time, the Court finds no adequate basis to conclude that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on any claim that the Governor’s strategy in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic was sufficiently irrational so as to be outside the realm of reasonableness within which the law allows the Governor to act,” Judge Gale wrote in his opinion.
Earlier this week, Gov. Cooper extended Phase 2 three more weeks, as North Carolina’s coronavirus numbers stood at their highest levels of the pandemic. With that extension, the bar group’s lawsuit took on greater importance for bar owners looking to reopen.
Bars have been closed since mid-March, when North Carolina first closed its bars and restaurants. In those three months, bars have had few ways to bring in money, while restaurants limped along with takeout operations.
Following the Phase 2 extension, Raleigh bar owner Zack Medford, who owns Isaac Hunter’s Tavern and spearheaded the lawsuit, called another three weeks of closing a “death sentence” for bars.
“The governor’s decision is effectively signing a death warrant for 1,063 bars across North Carolina while offering zero relief to the small-business owners or their employees,” said Zack Medford, president of the N.C. Bar and Tavern Association in a release. “Asking private bar owners to lose everything they’ve worked for while their competitors can thrive is unconscionable. Enough is enough. This is an issue of fairness. It is time for the courts to decide.”
In the court’s decision, Judge Gale ruled that the distinction between bars and restaurants had been made in the interest of public health. The state argued that people drinking alcohol may lose their interest in social distancing and may shout or sing in a loud environment, making the spread of the coronavirus more likely.
Bar owners had asked to follow the same Phase 2 guidelines as restaurants, meaning spacing out tables at least six feet, limiting capacity and performing regular cleanings and health screenings. In a hearing last week, attorney Mike Tadych represented the NC Bar and Tavern Association and argued the state had already opened 85 percent of the bar industry in allowing restaurants, brewery taprooms and wineries to reopen.
In his ruling, Judge Gale addressed the state’s “dimmer switch” plan for reopening the economy in phases.
“That decision was debatable when first made, and the debate has intensified as many states have begun to reopen their economies, accompanied by public reports on the impact of those reopenings,” Judge Gale wrote.
“The Court’s role is not to take either side of the wider public debate, but rather to determine whether the Governor’s choice was sufficiently reasonable so as not to be immediately enjoined.”
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 2:51 PM.
