JWC FITNESS, LLC VS. PHILIP D. MURPHY, ETC. (L-0388-20, SUSSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (A-0639-20)
In this latest appeal arising from executive orders (EOs) issued by the Governor of New Jersey in response to health-related emergencies caused by the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, plaintiff JWC Fitness, LLC, which until October 2020 operated a kickboxing business, claimed entitlement to compensation under the New Jersey Civil Defense and Disaster Control Act (Disaster Control Act), N.J.S.A. App. A:9-30 to -63, for the closure and limitations placed on its business under some EOs.
According to plaintiff, the EOs that temporarily limited and shut down the operations of health clubs, including gyms and fitness centers, effectively "commandeered and utilized" its property under N.J.S.A. App. A:9-34, such that the State must establish an "emergency compensation board" under N.J.S.A. App. A:9-51(c), in order to provide "payment of the reasonable value of such . . . privately owned property." N.J.S.A. App. A:9-34. Plaintiff also sought a declaratory judgment that the EOs effectuated a taking of its property without just compensation, in violation of the New Jersey Constitution, art. I, ¶ 20, and the United States Constitution, amends. V and XIV.
The court concluded that plaintiff's arguments were without merit as the statutory standard for compensation had not been implicated, and the EOs did not effectuate a taking of plaintiff's property within the meaning of the state and federal constitutions.
