Boardman gym sues over state-ordered shutdown
PAINESVILLE, Ohio - A Boardman fitness facility has joined 34 other gyms around Ohio suing the state over the Stay at Home Order.
Team BSS, which operates a gym on Bev Road, is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction against Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton’s order that has forced Ohio spas and fitness facilities to close as a precaution to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
According to the complaint, Team BSS is a gym and private training facility, owned by Shawn Schumaker.
The suit was filed in Lake County Common Pleas Court by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, which describes itself as “A non-profit, non-partisan law firm dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of Ohioans from government.”
Lawyers say Acton’s order, which was updated on April 30, opens, or provides a pathway to opening, many Ohio industries, but leaves gyms closed indefinitely without regard to whether gyms can operate safely.
“The Ohio Constitution requires greater scrutiny of vague and discriminatory enactments that trample Ohioans’ property rights. Ohio gyms are capable of operating safely and have the right to operate on equal terms with other Ohio businesses. Once gyms have opened, we are committed to ensuring that these arbitrary policies never recur,” said 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson.
Most recently, the state announced that massage therapists, tattoo parlors, and body piercing business may reopen on Friday under certain health precautions.
Gov. Mike DeWine says an advisory group is formulating conditions under which gyms may reopen, but so far no date has been set for the reopening of such facilities.
The state has yet to respond to the lawsuit.
Last month a federal judge refused a request by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law seeking a temporary restraining order against Ohio’s closure of non-essential businesses.
In asking the court to deny the restraining order, Attorney General Yost argued that the U.S. Supreme Court decided nearly 200 years ago that states have the right to enact and enforce quarantine laws.
