4 counties, host of plaintiffs, take governor, health secretary to court over business shutdowns
A Republican congressman, three state legislators and local business owners joined with four counties, Washington, Greene, Fayette and Butler, in seeking injunctive relief in federal court over shutdowns ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
A group of plaintiffs claims the state officials’ actions violated their constitutional rights, and they are seeking a declaration from the court that Wolf’s and Levine’s actions were unlawful.
They also want a permanent injunction against the waiver system that allowed some businesses to operate while others remained shuttered.
Among the local plaintiffs are Paul F. Crawford of Marigold Farm, Hopewell Township; Cathy Hoskins of Classy Cuts hair salon, Waynesburg; Skyview Drive-In theater, Carmichaels, and Steven Schoeffel, who trains horses and races them at The Meadows, which was closed by order of the governor.
The suit points to what the plaintiffs view as inequities in the waiver system granted by the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Skyview Drive-In, which also serves ice cream and pizza, was not allowed to operate, unlike neighboring businesses that sell the same foods.
Those who brought suit claim Wolf and Levine were “arbitrary and capricious” in announcing that counties bordering Butler could pass from the most-restrictive red alert status to a less-restrictive yellow cautionary status.
“It is clear the coronavirus does not stop or respect arbitrary bounds such as county borders,” the suit, brought by Butler attorney Thomas King III and Robert Eugene Grimm, Greene County solicitor, states.
Other counties border states that have fewer restrictions than Pennsylvania, it went on to assert.
The legal action stated U.S. Rep Mike Kelly of Butler and three members of the General Assembly – Reps. Daryl Metcalfe, Tim Bonner and Marci Mustello, a former Kelly staffer – are seeking the injunction not in their official capacities but as citizens.
The politicians, all of whom are running for re-election, object to stay-at-home orders because it has kept them from campaigning, going door-to-door, holding rallies and participating in other constitutionally-protected activities.
The counties say they have been beset by loss of tax revenue and constrained by being forced to hold public meetings that citizens have been unable to attend.
A spokeswoman for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit.
In a statement issued Thursday, Republican state Sens. Camera Bartolotta (R-Carroll), Scott Hutchinson, Joe Pittman and Pat Stefano expressed their support for the court case.