The Connecticut Supreme Court will hear this week its first case related to Governor Ned Lamont’s executive orders that have restricted restaurants and bars during the pandemic.
Kristine Casey, the owner of Casey’s Irish Pub in Milford, has been paying over $3,000 dollars a month in rent since March when Lamont closed bars to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. She said she’s been taking money from her father and from her personal savings to stay afloat.
Casey filed a suit in June against Lamont’s orders, which closed bars unless food was served and safety measures were followed.
She said the orders have kept her pub closed because there was no feasible way to serve a limited number of customers, and there is no space for outside dining. She said customers don’t come for the food and 90 percent of sales is from alcohol.
Casey wants the state’s highest court to stop Lamont from enforcing his orders on the grounds that the pandemic is not a serious disaster under the state’s constitution. In September, a lower court ruled in favor of Lamont saying state law grants him authority to act in the interest of public health and safety during the pandemic.