Spouse Of Woman Suing Murphy For Business Shutdown Is Laid Off

SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ - As Darlene Pallay continues to wait on the legal process in her case against Governor Phil Murphy over the loss of her business, her family was dealt another set back as her husband was laid off from his job.

Complicating the complete loss of her thriving, decade-old fitness business, Pallay’s family suffered a further setback with her spouse’s layoff, the family now having to add a steep monthly COBRA insurance premium to their already stretched budget.

Another wrinkle for the Pallays, she said, is that her three, school-aged children are on an inconsistent, in-person, school schedule due to the COVID-19 shutdowns in the schools, often switched to full virtual without notice, as she attempts to rebuild her livelihood.

Pallay's case sits in the Appellate Division as pandemic shutdowns near their one-year anniversary and the former business owner of the CKO Kickboxing Franklin franchise remains in limbo.

Pallay’s lawsuit against Murphy with her company JWC Fitness LLC, formerly based out of Sussex County, challenged the Governor’s execution of the Disaster Control Act in March 2020, when he invoked the Act in his Executive Orders and deemed some businesses, including Pallay’s, “non-essential.”

Though Pallay’s attorneys Robert W. Ferguson, Esq. of the law firm of Stern, Kilcullen and Rufolo, LLC of Florham Park and Catherine M. Brown, Esq., of Denville - who filed the suit with the facilitation of the non-profit advocacy group Rescue New Jersey - asked to have proceedings expedited based on Pallay’s plight, the Appellate Division denied their request.

“Why are people like Darlene Pallay personally paying this price and having their businesses destroyed?” Ferguson said.

In the meantime, Pallay continues to remain at the mercy of the Appellate Division schedule, with her side’s legal brief due on Feb. 18, the response for Murphy due March 22 and Pallay’s reply on April 1.

In March 2020 when Pallay still had over 200 members who patronized her fitness franchise, Murphy began shutting down businesses with the first of his back-to-back emergency COVID-19 Executive Orders, resulting in the permanent closure of more than one-third of the state’s small businesses.

Pallay described the impact of being unable to operate for months as a “complete domino effect.”

“It resulted in a loss of income, members and staff,” Pallay said. “We are still dealing with the financial fallout.”

Pallay attempted to stay operational once she was permitted to reopen in June in a socially distant and outdoor capacity. However, after finally securing outdoor space, her class sizes were still limited and schedules weather dependent.

Around the same time the suit was filed on Pallay’s behalf in Sussex County Superior Court on Sept. 23 and she was permitted by the state to reopen at a severely reduced capacity in her facility, less than the state’s 25 percent due to the nature of her classes which require more space per student, she could barely make ends meet to afford her current and back commercial rent payments. Pallay said she attempted to reopen in October but even before she could finish out the month, her landlord shut the water off in her facility.

“I was trying to operate with handcuffs on,” Pallay said, seeing other expenses around the corner, including her business license renewal, which she knew would only accrue more debt.

With the bleak picture in sight, Pallay made the decision to close down her business entirely and is still facing eviction proceedings for back rent owed, though she was unable to occupy the space for months due to Murphy’s Executive Orders.

Her attorneys said had the Disaster Control Act been implemented as stated in Murphy’s Executive Orders, which mandated compensation boards are established in every county where businesses and individuals could petition for “future reasonable compensation,” in return for Murphy’s control over their properties, it could have helped to cushion Pallay’s business.

“Rescue New Jersey is dedicated to helping restore the lives of people like Mrs. Pallay to a normalcy and safeguarding all their Constitutionally protected rights,” said Donald Dinsmore, Esq., Rescue New Jersey’s chairman.

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