N.C. Court Holds Selective COVID Shutdown May Have Violated State Constitution's "Fruits of Labor" Clause

Volokh Conspiracy ^ | 4/17/24 | EUGENE VOLOKH |

[CFW]

From N.C. Bar & Tavern Ass'n v. Cooper, decided yesterday by the N.C. Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Judge April Wood, joined by Judges Donna Stroud and Jefferson Griffin:

Plaintiffs appeal from the trial court's order granting summary judgment for Defendant and dismissing all their claims arising out of Defendant's Executive Order No. 141 issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 17 March 2020, Defendant issued Executive Order No. 118 closing all bars including those in restaurants. On 20 May 2020, Defendant issued Executive Order No. 141 letting some types of bars reopen with specific safety precautions but requiring private bars, including those owned by Plaintiffs, to remain closed. Defendant relied on "science and data" he claimed created a reasonable basis to distinguish between types of bars, thus letting some reopen while keeping others closed….

[snip]

.....

None of the information addresses any differences in risk of COVID-19 transmission between Plaintiffs' bars and the other types of bars allowed to reopen.

For the reasons explained below, we have determined the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiffs' summary judgment motion and dismissed Plaintiffs' claims under N.C. Const. art. I, § 1, the "fruits of labor clause," and for denial of equal protection under N.C. Const. art. I, § 19….

The fruits of labor clause states: "We hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness." N.C. Const. art. I, § 1. (emphasis added).

[CFW]

This will be in interesting case to follow now that the NC Court of Appeals has reversed the trial court's ruling.

[ConservativeMind]

All people who were inconvenienced or lost their jobs or businesses should have successful lawsuits for illegal takings from the government.

[HIDEK6]

Will we get to hang cooper?

[bk1000]

I say they never had the right to close businesses and demand people stay home. I still can’t believe so many cooperated with their nonsense. All those pitiful masked schoolchildren. People should be ashamed for their irrational fear. Authorities should be ashamed for their overreaction. Those ultimately responsible *cough*Fauci*cough* should be “adequately held to account”.

[Gary from Dayton]

It’s sad that every single authoritarian governor has kept his/her job. America isn’t what it used to be. Female voters have completely changed who we are.

[TexasFreeper2009]

the covid shutdowns were the most unconstitutional thing I have ever witnessed in my entire life.

[nonliberal]

Tribunals. Executions.

[TStro]

It was all about the election fraud they needed to steal the election.
They thought they would keep control, that everyone would be forced to take the killer jabs (my niece died this week from multiple cancers in every organ in her body from taking all the jabs) and millions would die, for which fraudchi would proclaim the plandemic was continuing, and we would keep taking the jabs. If you didn’t comply you couldn’t work and you would be put in camps (think Australia).
My niece worked in a healthcare facility in the Dallas area and was forced to take all the boosters.

[EBH]

Those were the first words said in my local professionals group in 2020. Most of us were OK...a 2 week shutdown...not thrilled, but OK. When things started getting extended was when many of us said, we can sue.

I think that is when the government came up with all the schemes and loans for businesses and sole props.

Now I am reading posts for those who took those loans/grants etc. and still have not successfully recovered are realizing those loans were designed to be VERY difficult to ever truly payback.

Sadly for many desperation took over true financial saavy and reading the ‘fine print’ carefully. Some of those loans had stipulations that if the business failed, the loan would not be forgivable in bankruptcy.

Lawsuits should be filed on many levels.

[OldGoatCPO]

If the next stop is the NC Supreme Court, Cooper is in trouble. The NC Supreme Court is 5-2 conservative.

I can say anecdotally that some restaurants in our area did go out of business because of Cooper's COVID restrictions. We only have a couple of bars, and they survived. Some restaurants were able to adapt physically and actually did quite well. During the height of the restrictions, one restaurant set plastic tables and chairs outside the restaurant. The food was sold to go, but if people decided to sit at the tables, it was on them. Cops came by once and decided to leave it alone.

At some point locally, everyone stopped following Cooper's orders, and businesses reopened. However, sheeple in the liberal enclaves remained masked and restricted long after we went back to normal. Some people would visit our area on the weekends to get away from the restrictions. This was funny because some sheeple actually believed we were the crazy ones and were all going to die.

[spankalib]

Man that’s rough. So sorry for your loss.

[100%FEDUP]

It was done for one purpose, TO CHANGE MAILIN BALLOT RULES!

[EVO X]

I say they never had the right to close businesses and demand people stay home. I still can’t believe so many cooperated with their nonsense.

I agree with your comment about closing businesses. How can you let grocery stores, big box stores, liquor stores and pot shops stay open and close much of everything else? I think part of the problem with people cooperating with the nonsense was they were terribly misinformed and mislead about the severity of the disease to the wider healthier public at large...