The Alabama Center for Law and Liberty (ACLL) has added plaintiffs in a March 2022 lawsuit stemming from Alabama’s COVID-19 lockdowns, 1819 News reported.
According to a release from the ACLL, O’Dell Equipment Rental, LLC, and JoJo’s Mini Golf & Frozen Yogurt, both owned by Jonathan O’Dell, have been added to the Riccio v. Harris lawsuit that was filed in March against Gov. Kay Ivey and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris. On March 19, the ACLL filed suit on behalf of Saranne Riccio and her business, Uncorked Providence, which also went out of business after the lockdowns.
The suit claims that, after COVID hit in March of 2020, the lockdowns imposed by Ivey and Harris forced JoJo’s to close its doors because it was considered a “nonessential” business. It was shut down until May, and then only at half capacity.
“JoJo’s was subject to that order until November 2020,” the release read. “These orders resulted in JoJo’s losing over 77% of its revenue, and it was forced to close in December of 2020. O’Dell was also forced to sign JoJo’s property back over to the bank.”
“This suit is about three things: compensating our clients for their losses, holding our government accountable for its actions, and defending the principle of separation of powers.” ACLL President Matt Clark stated. “Dr. Harris and Gov. Ivey ran the state for an entire year without any meaningful input from the legislature. Just as taxation without representation was a major grievance of the American Founders, ‘shutdown without representation’ is the major grievance in this suit. The Alabama constitution gives the legislative branch the authority to make the law and the executive branch the authority to execute the law. When the two powers are combined in the executive branch, people get hurt, as our clients’ case demonstrates.”
Other lawsuits have been filed against Harris and Ivey, including one lawsuit filed by seven Alabama residents. The group is represented by former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and The Foundation for Moral Law. Their suit claims the two abused their power to impose Covid restrictions.
“The Governor and State Health Officer of this State have clearly and repeatedly exceeded their authority under both the Constitution of the United States and the Alabama Constitution over the last six months,” Moore stated. “Unconstitutional restriction of church assembly and worship, discriminatory closing of businesses, stay at home orders, social distancing, wearing of masks, and restriction on travel are simply against our rights secured by the Constitution of the United States.”
“Because the legislature failed in 2020 and 2021 to rebalance the powers of the legislature and the executive, and since Gov. Ivey views the people’s representatives as a ‘herd of turtles’ unworthy of a vote, the people have no other choice than to resort to the courts to ensure that something like this never happens again,” Clark stated. “Suits in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have resulted in successful precedents holding that, even in a pandemic, the executive branch’s authority is still limited. We hope that the Alabama courts will agree.”
