Considering BPAA Past President Nancy Schenk is North
Carolina Legislative Chair of the Bowling Proprietors Association of the
Carolinas and Georgia, it should come as no surprise that the 75 BPAC/GA-member
centers in the Tar Heel State were allowed to open their doors.

Not long after businesses began to reopen in North Carolina,
Schenk publicly questioned Governor Roy Cooper’s mandates, wondering why
bowling centers were excluded. Realizing that nothing was likely to happen
unless action was taken, Schenk, BPAC/GA President Melanie Campbell and
Executive Director Renee Denis went to work.

The result: Based on a ruling by North Carolina Business
Court Judge James Gale, member centers were allowed to reopen with a lengthy
list of safety guidelines and practices provided by the court — virtually all
of which centers were prepared to enact anyway.

The BPAC/GA was represented in the action by attorney
Anthony Biller of the Michael Best & Friedrich law firm.

The association’s motion for a preliminary injunction was
heard in front of Judge Gale on July 1, asking for the right to reopen under
restrictions similar to those of other businesses then being allowed to
operate. BPAC/GA preparedness was described as “a large factor in our success”
by Campbell, who noted that “much of the guidance from the 17-page BPAA
COVID-19 Response Manual was incorporated into the judge’s order.”

But at midnight on July 18, centers were forced to close
again by the North Carolina Supreme Court while it reviewed an appeal from
Cooper. As Carolina Coast reported, Democrats hold a 6-1 majority on the
state’s highest court, with the chief justice and one associate justice having
been appointed by Cooper. This means the Democratic governor is unlikely to
face partisan opposition from the Supreme Court.

Without the fear of his action surviving judicial review,
Cooper is able to issue mandates that are nearly impossible for small
businesses such as bowling centers to overcome.

Judge Gale referred to a legal standard called “reasonable
relationship” in his opinion on bowling centers. The Supreme Court could have
allowed Gale’s order to stand as the case worked its way through the legal
process. Instead, Carolina Coast noted, the justices accepted Cooper’s request
to block the trial court order. And that meant the centers had to close again.

Now, Cooper and the bowling centers have until Aug. 19 to
file all arguments and paperwork in the case for the justices to review. But by
then, some of the centers may have blown through their reserves, leaving them
unable to reopen even when finally allowed to.

The situation is making many people re-think how they’ll
vote in the November elections. Carolina Coast quoted the mother of a
22-year-old autistic son who was having one of his most cherished activities taken
away with centers again being shut down.

“I’m most frustrated with Roy Cooper,” Jennifer Clapton
said. “I’m not even a Republican, and I’m afraid he’s going to make me vote
that way.”