A judge has agreed to drop 27 plaintiffs from the group of bar owners suing the governor over COVID-related mandatory shutdowns in 2020. Lawyers in the case indicated in February that they had been unable to contact the bar owners since 2024.
Superior Court Judge Edwin Wilson agreed during a court hearing Monday in Raleigh that the lawyers could withdraw their representation from 27 plaintiffs named in the North Carolina Bar and Tavern Association’s original lawsuit against then-Gov. Roy Cooper in 2020. The rest of the case’s original plaintiffs can move forward with the six-year-old case.
Current Gov. Josh Stein is now listed as the case’s defendant…