Well, here it is. What looks like the first complaint to be filed challenging a state governor’s order to shut down businesses to “flatten the curve.”
The complaint seeks class action status, and raises section 1983, due process, and Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment takings claims. It seeks damages, compensation, a declaratory judgment, and, interestingly, an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the shut down order “unless, and until, a mechanism is established to provide (a) just compensation for affected businesses and (b) appellate review of Governor Wolf’s classifications determining whether individual businesses are ‘life sustaining.'” Complaint at 39.
We’ve written about this issue recently here:
- Latest Readings: On Emergency Takings, Compensation For Commandeered Property
- The Royal Origins Of “Police Power” Hawaii-Style: The King v. Tong Lee (1880)
- Emergencies, Police Power, Commandeering, And Compensation: Essential Readings
- #CoronavirusLaw: Is There A Difference Between “Commandeering” Property In An Emergency, And “Taking” It?
More, from law.com: “Pa. Gov. Wolf’s Order Closing Businesses During COVID-19 Outbreak Violates Takings Clause, Lawsuit Claims.”
Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.
Complaint, Shulmerich Bells, LLC v. Wolf, Civ. No. 20-01637 (E.D. Pa. Mar. 26, 2020)