Chelan judge declines to move suit against stay-home order

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A judge in Chelan County on Wednesday declined to move a lawsuit challenging Gov. Jay Inslee's emergency stay-home orders arising from the coronavirus pandemic to Olympia.

Chelan County Superior Court Judge Kristin Ferrera said the lawsuit, which seeks to declare the stay-home proclamation unconstitutional, can be heard in Wenatchee because the use of different phases of reopening for different counties makes for different challenges among residents of those counties.

“”Venue is appropriate here,'' Ferrera said, rather than in Thurston County where many lawsuits involving the state are heard.

But Ferrera also declined to issue a temporary restraining order against the stay-home proclamation, which was issued in late March.

“”It seems you want to lift all restrictions,'' Ferrera told plaintiffs' attorney Joel Ard. “”That is not something the court would do.""

The hearing was conducted via Zoom, as will future hearings, which is another reason Ferrera declined to move the case.

The proclamation ordered the closure of many businesses across the state, among other prohibitions.

The lead plaintiff of the lawsuit is Jose Luis Cuevas, who owns an insurance business in Chelan County, and his wife Maria, who owns a beauty salon. They contend the stay-home proclamation devastated their businesses and asked that the proclamation not apply to Chelan County. Dozens of other people are also listed as plaintiffs.

“”The plaintiffs are suffering irreparable harm on a daily basis,'' Ard said.

The orders resulted in the closure of businesses, places of worship, schools, and other public gatherings across the state.

Ard has argued in previous hearing that there was no longer a need for the stay-home proclamations.

“”The emergency is over,″ Ard said, because the state has plenty of hospital capacity to handle the number of cases of COVID-19. “”Civil government in Chelan County should be restored.″

But Jeffrey Even, a deputy solicitor general for the state, has previously argued there was no evidence that the emergency had passed.

The judge previously added Douglas County as a plaintiff because Chelan and Douglas counties operate on joint health district.

Ard has said the plaintiffs in the case want local management of the pandemic to be transferred to the health district. He also said the state Legislature should call itself into special session to make decisions regarding the response to the coronavirus.

Courts in other states have ruled against similar COVID-19 orders by governors. The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order, ruling that his administration overstepped its authority when it extended the order for another month without consulting legislators.

In Oregon a rural judge ruled that the governor’s executive orders in response to the global pandemic exceeded a 28-day limit adopted by state lawmakers and were no longer valid in response to a suit filed by a group that included churches. The Oregon Supreme Court stayed that order and is now considering the case.