Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Gym reopening order declined amid challenge to N.J. governor

A federal judge has declined to allow a southern New Jersey gym to reopen as it continues a constitutional challenge to the state order that shut down businesses deemed non-essential in order to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.

A Atilis Gym member holds the American flag, as two members read the closed sign, outside the gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey on Saturday, May 23, 2020. The member holding the flag drove from Freehold, New Jersey and did not know the gym was closed. Atilis Gym owner Ian Smith says the embattled gym will be closed for several days after a judge granted a request from the NJ attorney general to chain the doors shut to enforce the state Department of Health's closure order.
A Atilis Gym member holds the American flag, as two members read the closed sign, outside the gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey on Saturday, May 23, 2020. The member holding the flag drove from Freehold, New Jersey and did not know the gym was closed. Atilis Gym owner Ian Smith says the embattled gym will be closed for several days after a judge granted a request from the NJ attorney general to chain the doors shut to enforce the state Department of Health's closure order.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer
    by The Associated Press, The Associated Press
    Published 

BELLMAWR, N.J. — A federal judge has declined to allow a southern New Jersey gym to reopen as it continues a constitutional challenge to the state order that shut down businesses deemed non-essential in order to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.

U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler on Friday denied a temporary restraining order sought by the owners of Atilis Gym of Bellmawr, which filed suit last month accusing Gov. Phil Murphy of having “arbitrarily” deemed some businesses essential while declaring others — such as gyms — non-essential, NJ.com reported.

Attorney Christopher Arzberger, who represents the owners, told Law360 that he was disappointed but vowed an appeal.

The suit argues that Murphy and other state officials violated the constitutional rights of the owners by forcing them out of business indefinitely with no timeline for when they could reopen.

The gym was shuttered last month after opening in defiance of the order and continuing daily operations despite receiving summonses each day for violating the state order.

» READ MORE: Court orders Atilis Gym in Bellmawr to close, co-owner calls Gov. Phil Murphy a ‘slimeball’

The owners cited steps taken to ensure social distancing, including taping off workout stations and operating at 20% of the building’s capacity, meaning about 44 patrons at a time. They also were requiring patrons to wear masks unless they were in the middle of lifting weights. Gym staff said they were taking patrons’ temperatures at the door and barring anyone at 100.4 or above; in addition, no new members were being allowed to join, officials said.