The lawsuit was filed on behalf of residents and business operators who said they’d be harmed by the Aug. 24-27 gathering.
A Jacksonville attorney asked a judge Wednesday to declare next month’s Republican National Convention a nuisance "injurious to the health" of residents and require it to be a smaller event with masks and social distancing to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
The convention planned Aug. 24-27 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena "may cause COVID-19 to spread beyond anything experienced in the world to date," attorney W.C. Gentry argues in a suit he filed on behalf of a string of residents and business operators he said would be harmed by the event.
"Unless restricted by the court, the congregation of thousands of people in close proximity for extended periods will constitute a nuisance and result in massive spread of COVID-19," the suit argues.
RELATED | Read more Jacksonville-area news
The suit was filed in circuit court against the city, the Republican National Committee, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and ASM Global Parent Inc., the company that manages the arena.
"We received the lawsuit late this afternoon and our legal team is currently reviewing the documents," city spokeswoman Nikki Kimbleton said.
The suit cites a 1917 state law letting citizens go to court to get relief from nuisances that affect the public in general and sue in the name of the state, which is also listed as a plaintiff.
The other plaintiffs are attorneys Dexter Davis and Tad Delegal; Curtis L. Booker, pastor of God’s Way of Living International Church; Duval schools employee Albert L. Buckner III; civic figure and certified pubic accountant Jack Meeks; and Dana Miller and Robin Wallace, owners of hair care businesses near the arena that the suit says will have to close during the convention.
The suit notes that Black and elderly people are statistically more likely to be harmed by the coronavirus. It adds that the arena is next to a neighborhood with a lot of Black and older residents.
"To avoid community spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and welfare of plaintiffs and the community, it is necessary and essential that all super spreader events where large numbers of people congregate in close proximity indoors not occur," the suit argues.
The suit asks for a court order either blocking the gathering from happening at the 15,000-seat arena or shrinking the event to no more than 2,500 people.
Asked about the convention and coronavirus concerns during a news conference Tuesday, Mayor Lenny Curry told reporters then that the Gov. Ron DeSantis’s executive orders limit all venues like the arena to 50 percent occupancy limit.
Whether those requirements will remain in place late next month is unknown.
Public health concerns have become a prominent part of local discussions about the convention.
Recent polling has suggested broad public worry. Duval County surpassing 10,000 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, while Curry himself was self-quarantined after being exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus, have helped reinforce a sense of the pandemic’s reach already.
The suit asks to have at least 12,500 seats roped off or somehow isolated so that people in the arena will all be at least 6 feet apart. People in the arena should all be required to wear masks, and anyone who refuses should be kicked out, the suit says.
The defendants should be required to disinfect the arena while the convention is going on, the suit argues, and should have to have hand sanitizer at the entrances and exits and at strategic spots inside the building. There should also be signs telling people to wear masks and socially distance, the suit says.
The suit also asks for "adequate personnel to police and enforce the COVID-19 safety measures by al persons in and around the arena."
The suit was filed late Wednesday afternoon and it wasn’t clear yet which judge would handle it.
Steve Patterson: (904) 359-4263
July 09, 2020 at 05:20AM
https://ift.tt/3ffXeSH
Suit filed to label Jacksonville RNC health ‘nuisance,’ shrink event - The Florida Times-Union
https://ift.tt/3fbzbE8
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Suit filed to label Jacksonville RNC health ‘nuisance,’ shrink event - The Florida Times-Union"
Post a Comment