HOUSTON, TX (The Texas Tribune) — Hoping to block Gov. Greg Abbott’s Friday decision ordering Texas bars to close due to a rise in coronavirus cases, more than 30 bar owners filed a lawsuit Monday challenging Abbott’s emergency order.
The lawsuit, first reported by the Austin American-Statesman, was filed in Travis County District Court by Jared Woodfill, a Houston attorney who has led previous legal efforts opposing Abbott’s other shutdown orders during the pandemic.
“Why does he continue unilaterally acting like a king?” Woodfill, former chair of the Harris County Republican Party, said of Abbott in an interview. “He’s sentencing bar owners to bankruptcy.”
Announcing the shutdown Friday, Abbott said the actions of his executive order "are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/29/texas-bars-sue-greg-abbott/.
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