Traveler Says N.Y. Quarantine Restrictions Are Illegal

An Arizona resident has filed a lawsuit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, claiming Cuomo’s directive telling out-of-state residents to quarantine when they enter the Empire State is unlawful.

Cynthia Page says she had plans to travel to Brooklyn, N.Y., to help pack up the home of Miriam Yerushalmi, who recently moved to California. She asserts that she was scheduled to fly from her home in Arizona to New York on June 29, 2020, and was scheduled to be in New York for two weeks.

As she was preparing to purchase her ticket on June 25, 2020, Page says, she learned Cuomo had issued an executive order telling out-of-state residents to quarantine for 14 days after they come into the state. Page states that as a result of the executive order, she had to cancel her plans.

“There was no way for Plaintiff to fly to New York and then quarantine under the restrictive requirements of the DOH Guidance for two weeks before she could begin to help her friend Miriam with her move,” Page explains in her lawsuit against the governor.

According to the plaintiff, she was only scheduled to be in New York for two weeks and could not extend her stay due to work and family obligations. Page maintains that until the restriction is lifted, she will not be able to travel to New York and she will not be able to assist her friend with her move.

Page claims Cuomo’s “hypocrisy” was apparent in March when Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo had police officers stop vehicles with New York license plates.

According to Page, Cuomo threatened to sue and tweeted, “We will not let New Yorkers be discriminated against.” Now, Page says that Cuomo is discriminating against other states with his Executive Order.

The plaintiff is seeking a declaration from the court that the enactment and enforcement of the Executive Order violates her fundamental civil liberties and rights secured by the United States Constitution.

On June 25, 2020, Cuomo issued Executive Order 205, which places quarantine restrictions on travelers arriving in New York. Pursuant to the order, people traveling from one of the “restricted” states are required to quarantine for 14 days, unless the traveler is an essential worker.

Page says the quarantine restrictions required by Cuomo’s executive order are the equivalent to a house arrest. That said, the plaintiff maintains that there is no requirement that the defendants demonstrate that the person quarantined actually has COVID-19 or was exposed to someone who has COVID-19.

“The restrictions imposed as a result of Executive Order 205 are arbitrary, capricious, and irrational,” Page says in her Cuomo lawsuit.

As an example, Page states that a perfectly healthy person is not permitted to travel from Arizona to New York without subjecting themselves to a 14-day quarantine, but a person with COVID-19 can freely travel from a state not on the restricted list to New York.

The plaintiff alleges that restrictions like Cuomo’s Executive Order will easily and predictably become the “new norm” resulting in the loss of liberty. She says that the burden is on the government to justify the restrictions and not on the people to justify their freedom.

The Cuomo lawsuit goes on to say, “Because it is always in the public interest to protect constitutional rights, the public has a compelling interest in determining the legality of the challenged travel restriction.”

Page maintains that the challenged restriction on travel lacks any rational basis, is arbitrary, capricious and vague and has no real or substantial relation to the objectives of the executive order. She says the executive order is, beyond all question, a plain, palpable invasion of rights secured by fundamental law.

The executive order and its implementing guidance and regulations violate the equal protection guarantee of the 14th Amendment, Page says in the lawsuit. She says the right to travel is a virtually unconditional personal right, guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

“A regulation that has the effect of imposing a penalty on the exercise of the right to travel violates the Equal Protection Clause unless shown to be necessary to promote a compelling governmental interest,” Page says.

She goes on to state that Cuomo’s executive order and its implementing guidance and regulations discriminate against individuals because they reside in or travel from “restricted” states. Page states she has suffered irreparable harm, including the loss of her fundamental rights, entitling her to declaratory and injunctive relief.

She is asking that the Court stop the enforcement of Cuomo’s executive order and award her attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses and any further relief deemed proper by the Court.

Were you planning to travel to New York from a restricted state? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by David Yerushalmi and Robert J. Muise of the American Freedom Law Center.

The Governor Cuomo Travel Restriction Lawsuit is Cynthia Page v. Andrew Cuomo et al., Case No. 5:00-at-99999 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

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