A Leap Above Dance Studio Joins Existing Lawsuit Challenge Mass Gathering Limits

A Leap Above Dance Studio in Oregon has joined an existing lawsuit against Public Health Madison & Dane County after the studio was cited for violating mass gathering limits, Channel 3000 reports.

PHMDC cited A Leap Above Dance studio 119 times last month for violating mass gathering limits during the studio's production of The Nutcracker.

The complaint alleges that 119 people were somehow involved or in attendance of this performance, which violated Emergency Order #10, which was in place at that time, banning mass gatherings of any size.

The lawsuit was filed last month by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty on behalf of two Dane County parents with children active in local sporting leagues. A Leap Above has now joined as a plaintiff in the suit, which challenges the limits placed on sports and indoor gathering bans.

Luke Berg, an attorney for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, claims that the studio's production was not a performance.

"This was not a performance in any way. There was no audience, and parents were not even allowed inside," he said. "The studio allowed dancers in small groups - mostly groups of 6 to 8 who were masked the entire time, were as socially distant as possible, and left before the next group rotated in. This activity complied with the order, which allowed groups of up to 15 people for group programs."

The lawsuit was originally filed by WILL with the Wisconsin Supreme Court this past November. The court ruled 4-3 against the first lawsuit. A motion hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for March 3.

Read more on Channel 3000.