Sunday, July 04, 2004

More on the injunction against the change in the blue laws

Yesterday, the Norfolk paper had this article ("Accidental 'day of rest' law won't be enforced yet," 7/3/04) and the Washington Post had this story ("Va. Judge Suspends Blue Law," 7/3/04) with more on the story of the blue law snafu, including the reluctance of Governor Warner to recall the General Assembly for a special session, and the attitudes of some union officials.

Earlier in the week, before the injunction was issued, the NY Times had this article ("New Law Gives Virginia's Workers a Break, by Accident," 7/2/04) on the problem.

Judge Markow was really put on the spot, he might easily have said he wasn't granting the injunction for any length of time, and let the plaintiffs appeal and the legislators rush about. I was local counsel in a case years ago where an injunction was sought by a bunch of big companies, claiming that absent relief, they would have to pay out a chunk of money that they shouldn't be charged and couldn't get back if it was later determined by the Court that they shouldn't be charged. The Court's answer, basically, was this: you are big companies, you can afford it, losing this amount of money is not irreparable harm, and if you want to litigate this issue we can set an early date for a final hearing on the merits.

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