A lawsuit moving through the state’s court system helps explain why.
The suit, dubbed
Waldron v. Cooper, pits the owner of a popular Greenville bar against the state’s governor. In her initial complaint, plaintiff Crystal Waldron focused on the discriminatory nature of Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive orders linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Waldron’s Club 519 and other private bars remained shuttered for 11 months as Cooper permitted other types of bars to reopen across the state.
Within days of a court hearing on Waldron’s suit, Cooper issued a new order. It allowed private bars to reopen in a limited capacity. That change addressed one piece of Waldron’s complaint, but it also prompted her legal team to shift its focus.