Thank God COVID is over. I still wince when the topic comes up…as it did today in the Appeals Court slip opinions.
The owner of Prime Fitness in Oxford has finally lost his years-long battle with the town and the state government over COVID-19 emergency orders that closed his business in 2020.
The gym owner did not, in fact, voluntarily close up shop. He boldly ignored the state and local government orders to close. Eventually, a superior court judge authorized the town to cut off the gym’s utilities and barricade its doors.
The gym owner fought back against the government in court, arguing that closing his private business in such a manner violated the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and exceeded the government’s authority under applicable statutory laws.
Ultimately the Appeals Court rejected his arguments.
Prime Fitness’s challenge to the…COVID-19 orders on due process and nondelegation grounds is foreclosed by the Supreme Judicial Court’s (SJC) decision in Desrosiers v. Governor, 486 Mass. 369 (2020). In Desrosiers, the SJC held that the Governor’s COVID-19 orders were within his authority under the [Civil Defense Act], and that the orders did not violate the separation of powers under art. 30 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, or Federal and State constitutional rights to procedural and substantive due process or free assembly. Id. at 371-372, 392-393. We are not persuaded by Prime Fitness’s argument that the issues they raise are distinguishable from those decided in Desrosiers.
The full text of the opinion is attached below.