MADISON, Wis. — A lawsuit that was filed in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court on Monday looks to overturn the gathering ban and restrictions recently put into place by Public Health Madison and Dane County.
The new public health order, which went into effect Wednesday, bans indoor mass gatherings with anyone outside of your household and limits outdoor gatherings to no more than 10 people.
bans indoor gatherings with anyone from outside the people you live with
According to PHMDC’s website, in-person games, sports, group exercise classes, movies, conferences and similar events are all considered mass gatherings. You can read more about Emergency Order #10 here.
The lawsuit was filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of Gymfinity Ltd., Jeffry Becker and Andrea Klein. It argues the order is an overreach of the legal authority granted to local health officers and an unlawful delegation of authority from local elected bodies.
Gymfinity is an 18,000 square foot gymnastics training center located in Fitchburg. WILL said the gym has established precautions to operate safely, including temperature checks and screenings. Gym staff has also adjusted schedules and rotations to limit contact and divided the gym into sections that are cleaned between classes.
The lawsuit states that the public health order shuts down most of the gym’s business, while allowing restaurants, bars and other retail establishments to stay open.
Becker and Klein each have multiple children that participate in youth sporting leagues and associations in Dane County. Each family says it has been directly impacted by the sports restrictions under the new order.
The new lawsuit comes as Wisconsin continues to see a rise in positive coronavirus cases. It was filed days after thousands of healthcare workers in Madison signed a letter asking people to follow CDC guidelines ahead of the holidays.
A lawsuit was previously filed in the Wisconsin Supreme Court over Public Health Madison and Dane County’s Emergency Order #9, which ordered all Dane County schools to begin the 2020 school year virtually for students in grades 3-12.
In that case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dane County’s health order, but many of the area’s largest school districts continued with plans to remain virtual for the first half of the school year.
