A Different Approach

On September 22, 2020, the court denied the governor’s stay request. The court held that the governor was not likely to succeed on appeal and distinguished other cases which have upheld the governor’s COVID-mitigation orders on the ground that those rulings were not based on a full factual record like the one developed in this case.

A federal court in western Pennsylvania, which struck down the commonwealth’s COVID-19 gathering limits, denied Gov. Tom Wolf’s request to stay ruling while it is on appeal. This means that, for now, the limits are not enforceable.

In a September 14, 2020 opinion and order, a federal district court in Pittsburgh declared Pennsylvania’s gathering limits, imposed as COVID-19 mitigation efforts, to be unconstitutional. Businesses may now choose to hold gatherings above the previously imposed limits, but this ruling is likely not the end of the story.

In a September 14, 2020 opinion and order, a federal district court in Pittsburgh declared Pennsylvania’s gathering limits, imposed as COVID-19 mitigation efforts, to be unconstitutional. Funeral homes and cemeteries may now choose to hold gatherings above the previously imposed limits, but this ruling is likely not the end of the story.