BUFFALO (WBEN) - It appears the now 92 local restaurants taking part in a lawsuit against the state will have to wait a little bit longer for a ruling on whether the state will have to loosen restrictions on indoor dining for restaurants within an orange zone.
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The restaurants are being represented by HoganWillig, and the two sides argued their cases before Judge Nowak Friday afternoon, but Nowak said he expects to issue a decision in roughly five days. There was initially hope that a ruling could come as early as Friday afternoon.
The main point of contention on behalf of the restaurants is that Governor Cuomo himself admitted that restaurants are not a major cause of spread, as transmission rates only represented 1.43% of total cases according to contact tracing.
"The whole idea here is that the restaurants, in our mind, were scapegoated as the cause of the pandemic to the extent that they're closed down while no other industry is similarly shut down," said Corey Hogan of HoganWillig.
"Most of our clients have indicated that if they have to go through this for another month or two, they're done," Hogan continued. "They cannot continue to operate and provide takeout only, and outdoor dining, as a practical matter, especially as it's interpreted by the state, doesn't work in Buffalo in the middle of January."
The plaintiffs are asking the judge to permanently prevent the state from enforcing the current orange zone restrictions, but he noted his clients are willing to adhere to the restrictions that were being enforced throughout most of the summer and fall.
Attorney Steve Cohen joined Tom Bauerle live Friday afternoon, and he said it would have been nice if Nowak had allowed restaurants to open immediately, but he understands the need for review time.
"We are hoping for a positive decision, and we wish that we could have been open this weekend - tomorrow is the Bills games as everyone knows - it would have been a good money-maker for everybody, but it's not going to happen," said Cohen.