Lawyers for the Athens-Clarke County government have urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit an Athens gun store filed asking that the government’s emergency shelter-in-place ordinance be declared unconstitutional.

Athens-Clarke has retained the Athens law firm Cook and Tolley to defend the case.

The lawyers for Athens-Clarke are also asking the judge to make the plaintiffs pay Athens-Clarke’s attorney’s fees and costs for their "bad faith, stubborn litigiousness, and causation of necessary trouble and expense."

Clyde Armory, owned by Republican U.S. congressional candidate Andrew Clyde, filed suit against Athens-Clarke County last month, calling the emergency shelter-in-place ordinance "an abuse of police power."

Athens-Clarke commissioners enacted the ordinance last month to help slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that had killed 184 Georgians and more than 6,700 in the United States as of Friday afternoon.

The ordinance is now superseded by a statewide shelter-in-place order by Gov. Brian Kemp.

The lawsuit, filed in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, has now been transferred to the U.S. District Court for Georgia’s Middle District.

Clyde Armory lawyers Kevin Epps and Morris Wilbanks have now added others as plaintiffs: Atlanta Highway marine supplies dealer Athens Marine, chiropractor Barry Hitchcock and his Family Chiropractic of Athens business and an unemployed restaurant worker named Ross Lee Lerohl.

The lawsuit claims the plaintiffs "will suffer irreparable injury" from the ordinance, even though the businesses are among those listed as "essential," like grocery stores and medical offices, and therefore can remain open.

"(A)t least two of the three business plaintiffs in this action have remained open following the adoption of the Shelter in Place Ordinance, and upon information and belief, the business of one such entity is thriving," wrote the Cook, Noell Tolley and Bates lawyers in their answer to the the lawsuit. "No Plaintiff in this action has been ordered to stop any activity or close its business. No citations have been issued to any person or entity under the Shelter in Place Ordinance."

They cited a newspaper article detailing the booming business gun stores have received during the pandemic.

In regards to Lerohl’s claims that his unemployment was caused by the ordinance, the lawsuit also notes that many local restaurants had reduced staff because of the absence of students after both the University of Georgia and the University of North Georgia shut down on-campus activities.

"Despite the overwhelming facts and law demonstrating the many deficiencies in their arguments and utter lack of likelihood of success, Plaintiffs nevertheless bring this action," the lawyers for Athens-Clarke wrote.

In addition, the plaintiffs’ claims regarding state law are barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity, according to a brief filed by Cook, Noell, Tolley and Bates on Thursday.

U.S. District Court Judge Ashley Royal has set a Monday hearing on the case.