The Gym 24/7 Fitness, LLC v. Michigan

Overview

The Gym 24/7 Fitness, LLC v. Michigan (Michigan Court of Appeals, Mar. 31, 2022): A gym owner unsuccessfully sued the State of Michigan, alleging an unconstitutional taking of its business property resulting from Governor Whitmer’s executive orders that closed businesses in response to COVID-19. The business owner argued that the Michigan and U.S. Constitutions require just compensation because eminent domain proceedings never commenced when the Governor ordered businesses to close temporarily. The State countered that the business owner was not entitled to just compensation because the Gym was not deprived of all economically productive or beneficial use of its property while closed for six months. The court found that executive orders that temporarily closed the gym owner’s business during the COVID-19 pandemic did not constitute a regulatory taking because the closure was temporary, the property still had value, and the executive orders were issued solely for the public purpose of preventing the spread of a deadly virus. Read the full decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – June 15, 2022.

View all cases under “COVID-19 Pandemic: Public Health Emergency Law & Policy Responses.”