Bar owners claim Cooper violated their rights when he forced their businesses to remain closed as others reopened during the pandemic. The plaintiffs’ lawyers filed a separate motion Friday seeking to drop their representation of another 10 bars or bar owners. The bar owners’ lawyers seek to address the issue of the 10 unresponsive bar owners during the Aug. 18 hearing. The bar owners’ lawyers specifically objected to lawyers from the North Carolina Department of Justice “smothering our clients” with requests for information. “More bar owners drop out of COVID shutdown lawsuit” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.