AUSTIN – Texas bar owners who have turned to the courts in hopes of overturning Gov. Greg Abbott’s shutdown order aren’t finding any help.
Earlier this month, Abbott declared that before he allows bars to reopen, COVID-19 lawsuits must start decreasing.
Abbott has forcefully closed pub doors twice, first in March and then again in June following a resurgence of the virus.
The second shutdown order led to multiple lawsuits against the governor, as bar owners asserted Abbott was trampling on their rights.
On July 16, Abbott filed a motion to dismiss a complaint brought by 6th Street Business Partners, arguing that the claims against him are misplaced because they go to enforcement.
“Plaintiffs bring this legal challenge arguing that their interest as bars or bar owners in serving customers in person overrides the State’s interest in preventing the spread of COVID-19,” the motion states. “They are gravely mistaken, and the stakes could not be higher.”
Court records show Abbott’s motion was granted on July 24. A final judgment was entered three days later.
“Even if Abbott’s connection to Plaintiffs’ alleged injury were sufficiently traceable to and redressable by him, sovereign immunity would also bar Plaintiffs’ claims against Abbott in his official capacity,” the judgment states.
After Abbott filed his motion to dismiss, the bar owners filed an amended complaint,
Asserting that his shutdown order “violates the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly.”
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman found that the amended complaint did not make Abbott’s motion moot.
Abbott is represented by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Texas, case No. 1:20-cv-00706