Judge tells NC strip club owners to hold off on their rush to reopen amid coronavirus
Strip clubs in North Carolina lost their bid to resume operations as the state reopens during the COVID-19 pandemic when a federal judge ruled Monday they lacked the same “urgency” to do so as restaurants.
In a 29-page order, Judge Louise Wood Flanagan for the Eastern District of North Carolina denied their motion for a temporary restraining order that would have allowed the clubs to reopen while litigation moved forward.
“(Gov. Roy Cooper) has taken intricate steps to craft reopening policies to balance the public health and economic issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, while recognizing the continued severe risks associated with reopening, and where neither the court nor plaintiffs are better positioned to second-guess those determinations, the public interest does not weigh in favor of injunctive relief,” Flanagan wrote.
The state’s litany of executive orders since the first case of the coronavirus was reported in North Carolina in early March has set off an onslaught of litigation — from churches to bar owners and trampoline parks.
At least 28 strip clubs in seven North Carolina counties — Guilford, Mecklenburg, Onslow, Duplin, Wake, Gaston and Pitt — filed the present lawsuit on May 26 against Cooper, court documents show.
The complaint challenges Executive Order 141, under which Cooper implemented Phase Two of the state’s three-phased reopening plan and allowed restaurants, breweries, wineries and salons to reopen.
Gyms, bars and entertainment venues, however, remain shuttered.
Attorneys for the strip clubs — which include Leather & Lace in the Charlotte region and Pure Gold in the Raleigh area — said the order violates their constitutional rights to equal protection, free speech and due process.
They specifically argued the government could not allow restaurants and breweries to reopen while keeping strip clubs closed.
Flanagan disagreed.
In Monday’s order, she said the state government had a legitimate interest “in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the health and safety of the public” by limiting business activity.
Attorneys for the strip clubs had said they could reopen under the same guidelines as restaurants and other facilities by maintaining six feet of distance and requiring dancers to wear masks.
In response, Flanagan pointed to the justification proffered by state Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen when she said entertainment facilities run the risk of bringing large groups of people together for an extended time.
Social distancing measures were likely to fall by the wayside when alcohol is consumed, Cohen had said.
Entertainment venues like strip clubs also require “yelling over loud music, singing and dancing,” meaning the risk of transmitting COVID-19 would be higher, she said.
Flanagan conceded the clubs had shown similarities between their operations and those of the businesses permitted to reopen but found Cooper and Cohen made the distinction on a reasonable basis.
“As Dr. Cohen attested, defendant employed a ‘dimmer switch’ approach to the reopening of businesses, gradually easing restrictions on high-risk activities, instead of allowing all businesses to reopen at once, in order to monitor the spread of COVID-19,” the order states. “This measured approach is reasonable and rational, where uncertainties about COVID-19 still loom.”
Flanagan said the clubs’ attorneys also failed to address additional reasons why just restaurants might be allowed to reopen, such as their “importance to the community as a whole.”
Interruptions to the restaurant supply chain contributed to significant food waste in the state and “disproportionately harmed workers, farms and businesses involved in the sale of food,” she said, citing the governor’s order.
Strip clubs, however, lacked the same “urgency,” Flanagan said.
Monday’s order does not dismiss the suit in its entirety but permits the allegations to move forward while the strip clubs and other entertainment venues remain closed.
Cooper has also mentioned the possibility of implementing a “Phase 2.5,” The Raleigh News & Observer reported. But it wasn’t immediately clear what rollback to the current restrictions might be included in that.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Judge tells NC strip club owners to hold off on their rush to reopen amid coronavirus."
