Judge Denies NJ Gym Owners' Temporary Restraining Order: Report

BELLMAWR, NJ — The owners of a South Jersey gym that reopened in defiance of Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order have reportedly been denied their request to reopen via temporary restraining order.

The owners of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr had argued that their landlord is not giving them any relief on their rent, and they had not received any help from the government, nj.com reports.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said these arguments can be made during the course of their lawsuit’s normal proceedings, and Judge Robert Kugler agreed, according to Law360.

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Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti have filed a federal lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the state's "Draconian" shelter-in-place executive orders, which resulted in the closing of non-essential businesses. Read more: South Jersey Gym Owners That Defied Murphy’s Order File Lawsuit

It was filed after the gym reopened three times in one week last month in defiance of the executive order. The gym was closed by order of the state after the third reopening. It then reopened a fourth time, but was shut down again by court order.

The owners said this step violates the 5th Amendment's Takings Clause, and said the state's assertion of police power is unjustified and unnecessary.

In the lawsuit, the owners claim that if the executive order is permitted to stand, small businesses will continue to incur massive and widespread economic damage, which would force businesses to close and millions of people to lose their jobs.

In the order that shuttered the gym, state officials said they could take further steps to ensure the gym would remain closed to the public, including locking the doors.

The order says gyms and fitness centers present particularly high-risk settings for spreading the coronavirus because "customers of these facilities engage in physical activities that increase the customers' respiratory activity, which in turn can increase the amount of respiratory droplets or aerosols in a confined setting."

There are plans to allow gyms to reopen in New Jersey, but no firm date had been set as of Monday morning.

Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know