Walz Cries “Uncle” After Lawsuit Filed, Reopens Bars and Restaurants, Justice & Drew, 1.8.21

Walz Cries “Uncle” After Lawsuit Filed, Reopens Bars and Restaurants, Justice & Drew, 1.8.21

This past Friday I called in to Justice & Drew to discuss our lawsuit filed this past Monday on behalf of 27 restaurants against Governor Walz and the Governor’s almost immediate reaction to it; namely, by announcing, an hour after being served with our lawsuit, a press conference to “loosen” restrictions, which he did on Wednesday. You can here the discussion here.

As I mentioned during Friday’s show, our firm had a lawsuit all ready to file back in May after Governor Walz failed to “move his dials” after May 20. We were all set to file our complaint and a motion for temporary restraining order on a Thursday evening when we were told to hold off pending an announcement by the Governor the following day. When he lifted the prohibition on bars and restaurants and allowed them to reopen at 50% capacity, our clients in that lawsuit told us to stand down.

When Governor Walz ordered a second shutdown just before Thanksgiving, our clients asked us to look into re-filing the lawsuit. While the circumstances had changed since May, our argument that the Governor’s actions in closing bars and restaurants – and using flawed data to justify his actions – violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Minnesota Constitution, was the same.

As we communicated to the Assistant Attorney General in dismissing our lawsuit without prejudice (meaning that we can file it again if necessary), we will continue to closely watch the Governor’s actions and should he act again in a manner which we feel violates the Minnesota Constitution, we are prepared to push back…again.

To listen to my prior appearances on Justice & Drew, check out the show page.