The Texas Supreme Court voided a restraining order against a salon owner who was jailed and fined last year for keeping her store open despite executive actions requiring the business to be closed.
Shelley Luther, owner of Salon À la Mode, spent two days in jail last May after Dallas Judge Eric Moyé ruled that she was to be held in civil and criminal contempt for violating orders that required her salon to be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Texas Supreme Court intervened last year, letting her out on a personal bond while they reviewed her case. On Friday, the court formally overturned Moyé’s restraining order, which would have required Luther to spend 7 more days in jail and pay a $7,000 fine.
Luther no longer faces jail time or has to pay the fine, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The overruling of the decision had less to do with the constitutionality of the executive order and more to do with the wording of the restraining order.
“We now conclude that the temporary restraining order failed to set forth the conduct required and the legal basis for its issuance in clear, specific and unambiguous terms,” the opinion from the court stated.
Luther praised the court ruling.
“To say we are pleased with the court’s ruling is an understatement,” she said in a press release. “We could not have prevailed without our attorney Warren Norred’s relentless pursuit of justice.”
Moyé said during his ruling last year that he wouldn’t send Luther to jail if she admitted that she was selfish for keeping her salon open, but she refused.
"I have to disagree with you sir, when you say that I’m selfish because feeding my kids — is not selfish," Luther said. "I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they’d rather feed their kids. So sir, if you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, then please go ahead with you decision but I am not going to shut the salon.”