Dallas salon owner ordered to spend a week in jail for keeping salon open
Shelley Luther kept her business open amid the coronavirus pandemic, despite local and state order’s and a judge’s restraining order.
A Dallas salon owner will spend a week in jail after she was found in contempt of court Tuesday for violating a court order to close her salon during the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to the jail time, Shelley Luther was fined at least $3,500 for continuing to operate her business, Salon à la Mode, in violation of a temporary restraining order issued against the business.
Like other businesses deemed nonessential, Luther’s Far North Dallas salon was forced to close March 22 after Dallas County enacted its stay-at-home order. She reopened the salon on April 24 despite that order, and tore up a cease-and-desist letter from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins at a demonstration the following day.
The temporary restraining order was signed April 28 by state District Judge Eric Moyé, but Luther continued to operate the business.
In a hearing that was broadcast live on YouTube on Tuesday, Luther said she had no choice but to open her business to survive.
She said she hadn’t earned income since the county’s stay-at-home order was set in March. She applied for a federal loan aimed at helping small businesses, but didn’t receive the loan until Sunday, she testified.
“I couldn’t feed my family and my stylists couldn’t feed their families,” Luther testified, holding a phone to her face from the witness stand so the court reporter could hear her through a mask.
This story is developing.
Shelley Luther kept her business open amid the coronavirus pandemic, despite local and state order’s and a judge’s restraining order.
A Dallas salon owner will spend a week in jail after she was found in contempt of court Tuesday for violating a court order to close her salon during the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to the jail time, Shelley Luther was fined at least $3,500 for continuing to operate her business, Salon à la Mode, in violation of a temporary restraining order issued against the business.
Like other businesses deemed nonessential, Luther’s Far North Dallas salon was forced to close March 22 after Dallas County enacted its stay-at-home order. She reopened the salon on April 24 despite that order, and tore up a cease-and-desist letter from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins at a demonstration the following day.
The temporary restraining order was signed April 28 by state District Judge Eric Moyé, but Luther continued to operate the business.
In a hearing that was broadcast live on YouTube on Tuesday, Luther said she had no choice but to open her business to survive.
She said she hadn’t earned income since the county’s stay-at-home order was set in March. She applied for a federal loan aimed at helping small businesses, but didn’t receive the loan until Sunday, she testified.
“I couldn’t feed my family and my stylists couldn’t feed their families,” Luther testified, holding a phone to her face from the witness stand so the court reporter could hear her through a mask.
This story is developing.
