Today, attorneys Paul J. Cambria, Jr. and Todd J. Aldinger of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP obtained a favorable ruling in New York State Supreme Court on behalf of the firm’s client, Orchard Park based gym, Athletes Unleashed.
Robert Dinero, owner of Athletes Unleashed, took legal action against New York State due to restrictions imposed on his business by COVID-19 executive orders put in place by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
In December 2020, attorneys Paul Cambria and Todd Aldinger argued that restrictions New York State placed on gyms through COVID-19 executive orders were arbitrary and capricious. At that time, New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Athletes Unleashed by issuing a temporary injunction on the twenty-five percent capacity limit that New York State had placed on gyms. However, in December 2020, the court did not rule on whether directives from Governor Cuomo’s executive orders could be generally applied to gyms.
Today, New York State Supreme Court Judge Paul Wojtaszek ruled that New York Executive Law 29-a, which is the law used to authorize the Governor’s COVID-19 executive orders, places a thirty-day limit on the directives. Therefore, Athletes Unleashed does not have to adhere to any restrictions that come from executive orders that were issued more than thirty days ago.
Regarding today’s decision, attorney Todd Aldinger stated “The essence of our lawsuit, and the grounds on which we won today, is that it’s time for New York to return to normal constitutional law making. A lot of what the governor has done to combat COVID-19 is wise. However, after thirty days, it is up to the state legislature to review the directives the governor has put in place and decide whether to pass them into law or not.”
Mr. Aldinger went on to say “We are grateful to Robert Dinero to have the opportunity to represent Athletes Unleashed and we are pleased to have obtained a favorable decision for his gym.”
Based on today’s court ruling, Athletes Unleashed will be able to resume business operations in a manner that closely resembles the operations it had in place prior to the pandemic. The gym will still adhere to the Department of Health’s order on mask wearing and social distancing.
