Judge Says He's Being Sued For Coronavirus-Related Closures: 'I DID NOT Order A Single Business In Collin County To Close'
COLLIN COUNTY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A North Texas judge says he's being sued by someone who was negatively affected by coronavirus-related closures. However, the judge says he didn't force any business to close.
On his Facebook page, Collin County Judge Chris Hill said he was told Wednesday by attorney James Mosser that he was having a lawsuit filed against him due to closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Hill, the client "was financially and irreparably harmed because of government mandated closures."
However, Hill responded by saying he had considered all businesses essential and that he didn't order any of them to close.
"... I declared 'All businesses, jobs, and workers are essential,' and I DID NOT order a single business in Collin County to close," Hill wrote on Facebook.
When the county's stay-at-home order was first enacted on March 24, Hill said he considered all the businesses to be essential for "the financial health and well-being of our local economy." He said businesses that wanted to stay open could do so by complying with county and state guidelines.
Since then, statewide stay-at-home orders expired at the beginning of May and nonessential businesses were slowly allowed to reopen in phases with limited capacities.