Instead of challenging orders, Wichita gym owner wants state to pay for COVID-19 shutdown

A Sedgwick County man and his gym are demanding the state pay up over springtime business shutdowns meant to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Sedgwick County District Court, Ryan Floyd and Omega Bootcamps Inc. argue they are “entitled to compensation” under a Kansas law that allows people to recoup losses when the government commandeers private property “to help cope” with a disaster during an emergency declaration.

Floyd and Omega Bootcamps Inc. contend the state’s shutdown this spring of gyms and fitness centers as well as subsequent restrictions on their reopening amounts to “government use” of his business, making them eligible to submit a compensation claim under K.S.A. 48-933.

The lawsuit is different than others filed by businesses in response to government closures and restrictions on their operations because it seeks payment under an existing law rather than challenging the validity of emergency orders that have come under fire by the business sector since shutdowns started in March.

Read more: https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article247779410.html