Central NY Athletic Club Files Challenge to Executive Orders That Forced Gyms to Close
The athletic club's lawsuit reflects growing frustration from New York businesses not yet allowed to reopen, but burdened with months of closures and a down economy.
July 08, 2020 at 03:50 PM
3 minute read
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, May 27, 2020, at the National Press Club in Washington. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
An athletic club in central New York is suing the state over coronavirus-triggered mandates that forced its gyms to close.
The Aspen Athletic Club filed the lawsuit in a state court last week, arguing that Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not provide any procedural due process before issuing lockdown orders.
The athletic club operates four gyms throughout Onondaga County and employs 160 county residents, according to the lawsuit. Since mid-March and the lawsuit's filing, the club has been forced to close the fitness facilities due to executive orders from Cuomo, who is listed as a defendant in the suit, according to the litigation.
The club is asking the court for a declaratory judgment that the executive orders violate their constitutional rights. The club is represented in the matter by James G. Mermigis of the Mermigis Law Group.
Central New York is in the final phase of the state's reopening plan. However, gyms are not listed among the businesses allowed to reopen. The phase does allow for the reopening of higher education, "low-risk" indoor arts and entertainment and professional sports with no fans, among other activities.
As the intensity of the coronavirus crisis has waned in New York, state officials have allowed certain industries to reopen by region.
The athletic club's lawsuit reflects growing frustration from New York businesses not yet allowed to reopen, but burdened with months of closures and a down economy.
The athletic club owes nearly $400,000 in back rent and 1,400 people have canceled their memberships, according to the lawsuit filed last week. The business cannot afford to stay closed, according to the lawsuit, which said the club can provide its service in a sanitary and socially distanced environment.
The litigation is one in a string of lawsuits over New York's various coronavirus-induced restrictions.
The lawsuit also noted Cuomo's comments about demonstrators who had gathered in large crowds to protest the killing of Black Americans by police. The Democrat has expressed support for the demonstrations.
"The only conclusion you draw from that is that thousands of people can march together throughout the State and there is no public health issue for marches, but someone who wants to open their gym with CDC safety guidelines is endangering the public," the lawsuit reads.
"There is either a public health emergency or there's not. It cannot be both," the lawsuit says.
The litigation cites the Fourteenth Amendment and says the executive orders deprived the athletic club of the equal protection of the law.
"In short, [the athletic club] brings this lawsuit to define the limits of a State's police power," according to the lawsuit.
READ MORE:
New York's Visitor Quarantine Order Draws Legal Challenge From Arizona Woman
Cuomo Faces Federal Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Restrictions on Houses of Worship
Some Big Law Firms Are Waiting to Reopen Their New York Offices
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Relaxing Penalties on Discovery Noncompliance Allows Criminal Cases to Get Decided on Merit
5 minute read
Bipartisan Lawmakers to Hochul Urge Greater Student Loan Forgiveness for Public-Interest Lawyers
'Playing the Clock'?: Hochul Says NY's Discovery Loophole Is to Blame for Wide Dismissal of Criminal Cases
So Who Won? Congestion Pricing Ruling Leaves Both Sides Claiming Victory, Attorneys Seeking Clarification
4 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
