California health clubs sue Newsom over COVID-19 restrictions: ‘We believe in science’

Numerous California churches have sued Gov. Gavin Newsom, challenging his COVID-19 shutdown orders, without success.

Now the state’s health clubs are giving it a try.

The California Fitness Alliance, a group of health-club chains from across the state, announced Tuesday it is suing Newsom to win the right to reopen indoor facilities.

Alliance members said Newsom’s decision to close indoor health clubs and yoga studios ignores the clubs’ ability to keep their customers safe.

“We believe in science, we believe in data,” said Francesca Schuler, a Fitness Alliance board member and owner of the In-Shape Health Clubs chain. “We are in the health business, first and foremost.” Based in Stockton, In-Shape operates 64 clubs between Shingle Springs and Santa Maria, with most in the San Joaquin Valley.

Clubs across most of the state were forced to close during the original shutdowns in mid-March. As the coronavirus pandemic showed signs of easing, Newsom allowed gyms to reopen. But he closed them again in much of the state a month later, in mid-July, after infection rates surged — even though Schuler said gyms’ ramped-up hygiene protocols prevented any outbreaks during the window when clubs were open.

Many gyms have stayed open by moving some of their exercise equipment outdoors, but Schuler said the smoke from California’s epidemic of wildfires has severely undermined that approach.

Scott Street, the alliance’s lawyer, acknowledged that previous legal challenges over Newsom’s orders have failed. But he said those lawsuits focused on freedom-of-speech issues and constitutional freedoms. The gym owners’ lawsuit, by contrast, is based on how Newsom has imposed his orders under the California Emergency Services Act — which Street believes gives his clients a better chance at success.

“The governor’s actions have been arbitrary,” said Street, of the Musick Peeler law firm in Los Angeles. “They’ve been irrational, not based on evidence. ... We hope that will be the difference.”

Street said gym owners “do not have a political agenda. This case is not about attacking the governor.” The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 11:46 AM.