New court filings show a Colfax man’s lawsuit, which mirrors recent conservative legal arguments from across the state in challenging the governor’s emergency COVID-19 closures, was re-filed in county court Friday after his previous claim moved to federal court.
Kevin Akesson, of Colfax, filed two complaints last week in Whitman County Superior Court seeking an injunction to block enforcement of the governor’s emergency proclamations. His latest 17-page complaint argues the immediate threat of overwhelming the health care system has passed.
“COVID-19 threatens the health of many Washington citizens and has already resulted in nearly 1,000 deaths statewide,” a May 15 motion states. “However, it is no longer an ‘emergency’ justifying the sweeping powers claimed by Governor Inslee in his many Proclamations addressing COVID-19.”
The Whitman County Gazette reported the lawsuit last week. Akesson’s case was filed by Joel Ard, the same Western Washington attorney representing four Republican lawmakers in another similar lawsuit against Inslee. Read that court filing here.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Eyman and others also filed a separate federal lawsuit against Inslee earlier this month. Read that filing here.
Inslee, via the state Attorney General’s office, filed Friday to move Akesson’s case to U.S. District Court in Spokane. A hearing set for this morning in Whitman County Superior Court was stricken as a result.
No legal answer has yet been filed in the case. In response to the earlier lawsuits, Inslee called conservative pushback on his restrictions “not only shortsighted, but dangerous.” He has since introduced a four-phase process for reopening businesses and government services.
In an email this afternoon, Ard argued state officials had attempted to move the case to federal court to avoid state-level legal review of Inslee’s actions. Ard wrote he responded by filing to dismiss the federal case Friday and re-filing a similar complaint back in Whitman County.
“As recent decisions in state and federal courts around the country demonstrate, these months-long emergency declarations don’t stand up to judicial scrutiny,” he wrote via email. “Bob Ferguson, by claiming that a state judge should not review a state law that the state governor relies on to the detriment of state citizens, simply wants to avoid that fatal scrutiny. … We look forward to a prompt hearing on Mr. Akesson’s state law claims in state court.”
Akesson’s complaint states his family has “very limited, intermittent internet” service, which makes virtual services or meetings difficult to access. His complaint argues COVID-19 closure orders have prevented him from attending church, practicing routine fitness, accessing library services, engaging in recreational activities and participating in local government or political events.
“Akesson is politically active,” the complaint also notes. “Political meetings have been cancelled or held on-line only to comply with the proclamations.”
The Gazette previously reported Akesson has advocated locally for the conservative Liberty State movement to split off Eastern Washington into its own 51st state.
Akesson’s complaint also references recent University of Washington outbreak models that show hospital capacity now keeping up with new cases. The complaint argues the need for emergency restrictions has passed and continued closures threaten to undermine local health care facilities.
“It is in the public interest to restore to local health officials the authority to deal with COVID-19,” a motion states, “and to balance the threats posed by COVID-19 with other demands on health care resources.”
Akesson’s complaint specifically references the financial impacts, such as staff furloughs and pay cuts, at Pullman Regional Hospital and other medical facilities.
Whitman County received approval to re-open some businesses with Phase 2 restrictions on Friday. That approval process included an assessment of the county’s health care capacity to respond to a surge in COVID-19 cases.