The request for a stay argued that San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil overreached his authority Wednesday, Dec. 16, when he issued the injunction prohibiting state and local officials from enforcing restrictions on dining that limited restaurants to providing only take-out service and banned live entertainment.
The state said the move jeopardized the health of county residents because it undercut public health orders aimed at mitigating the spread of the disease.
Wohlfeil’s ruling, which went into effect immediately, came in a lawsuit filed by owners of two San Diego strip clubs, Pacers and Cheetahs, who challenged public health orders that would have largely shuttered their businesses. But the judge took the step of not only siding with the clubs and prohibiting the state from enforcing the restrictions, but applying that order to all restaurants in the county even though no restaurants were involved in the lawsuit.
A state appeals court issued a stay Dec. 18 blocking a San Diego County Superior Court judge’s ruling that had allowed restaurant and live entertainment venues to reopen in the county. The stay closed a window of opportunity that opened briefly for an industry besieged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The move by the California 4th District Court of Appeal came in response to an emergency application from the state attorney general’s office for Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Department of Health. The stay means restaurants must again shut down onsite dining. They can be open for takeout and delivery.