A group of Downtown business owners, residents and clergy filed a lawsuit July 8 asking Florida’s 4th Judicial Circuit Court to declare the Republican National Convention a “nuisance” linked to the risk of community spread of COVID-19.
Seven plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the city of Jacksonville, the Republican National Committee, Donald Trump’s Donald J. Trump for President Inc. and VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena operator ASM Global Parent Inc.
According to documents filed with the 4th Circuit, the plaintiffs ask the court to declare the convention a nuisance under Florida Statute Section 823.05(1) defined as anything that “tends to annoy the community or injure the health and of the community.”
The group cited concerns that the large-scale convention, which the Republican Party of Duval County said could bring 12,000 to 15,000 people to RNC venue VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, will become a “super spreader” of the coronavirus.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines released in June call large in-person gatherings the “highest risk” behavior related to COVID-19.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis extended a state of emergency declaration related to the virus July 7 for 60 days, through the convention. DeSantis’s active executive orders on COVID-19 include a 50% capacity restriction for venues like VyStar arena.
The plaintiffs include attorneys Dexter Davis and Tad Delegal; Pastor of God’s Way of Living International Church Curtis Booker Sr.; Albert Buckner, who lives near the arena; public accountant Jack Meeks; Man Cave Barber Shop owner Dana Miller; and Hair Architects owner and operator Robin Wallace.
The lawsuit states all plaintiffs work or live near the arena where Trump is expected to give his GOP nomination acceptance speech during the Aug. 24-27 convention.
The lawsuit calls for the arena to remain closed or admittance be limited to 2,500 people and isolate and rope off 12,500 seats “or such number as necessary to provide a seated distance of at least six feet between each person.”
The plaintiffs want the court to require the city, the Trump campaign, ASM Global and event organizers to mandate face masks and social distancing in and on the arena grounds, and remove anyone refusing to follow COVID-19 protocols.
The demands include installing sufficient signage around the arena noting the required health and safety requirements, and establishing COVID-19 testing and tracking protocols for attendees who have been exposed to the virus or are exhibiting symptoms.
The plaintiffs are represented in the case by attorneys W.C. Gentry; C. Rufus Pennington III; James C. Blecke of The Haggard Law Firm; and Craig A. Gibbs of the Law Office of Craig Gibbs.
Gentry was one of three attorneys who represented the Duval County School Board in a lawsuit filed in September against the city after the City Council declined to place a half-cent sales tax referendum for district school building improvements on the November 2019 ballot.
Delegal is a founding partner of the Delegal & Poindexter law firm and past president of the Jacksonville Bar Association. He said in a phone interview July 8 that he joined the lawsuit because he thinks the city, the Trump campaign and the national GOP are not showing concern about the possible health impacts the RNC could have on Northeast Florida residents.
“The former location (Charlotte, North Carolina) insisted on taking appropriate safety measures. The only reason it moved to Jacksonville was a desire to be unsafe,” Delegal said.
Trump was to deliver his speech in Charlotte, but disagreements with officials there led to Trump and RNC officials to tease Jacksonville as a “top contender” for an alternate site, the Florida GOP said in a June 9 tweet.
Delegal’s firm moved Downtown to 424 E. Monroe St. in 1996. He said he’s confident there can be a decision from the court before the convention is scheduled to start.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs filed motions to produce documents and complete discovery in the case by July 20, hold a pretrial/case management conference on or before July 23 and set a final hearing on or before Aug. 11.
“I’m hoping for some recognition that the need to be safe and avoid the effects of the largest pandemic that the modern world has ever seen will be recognized,” Delegal said.
Responding to an emailed request for comment, city Director of Public Affairs Nikki Kimbleton said city officials “received the lawsuit late this afternoon. Our legal team is currently reviewing the documents.”