Updated on December 21, 2020 at 9:40 am
NBC Universal, Inc.
Opponents of the state s outdoor dining ban aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 have filed a federal lawsuit, two weeks after a Superior Court judge overturned a similar order in LA County.
The lawsuit comes after restaurant operators were not able to resume outdoor dining despite the Dec. 6 ruling because the state s regional stay-at-home order contains an overriding ban.
A team of lawyers headed by Mark J. Geragos filed the complaint Sunday in U.S. District Court asking to block the state s outdoor dining ban on behalf of the owners of the Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Sherman Oaks and owner Angela Marsden, according to the complaint.
Gavin Newsom over the state s recent ban on outdoor dining.
Angela Marsden, who owns Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Sherman Oaks, said that she spent tens of thousands of dollars to set up her restaurant for outdoor dining, only to be told it was no longer allowed.
The lawsuit said that Newsom s order is a violation of the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Defendants, in a gross abuse of their power, have seized the Coronavirus pandemic to expand their authority by unprecedented lengths, depriving Plaintiff and all other similarly situated small business owners in California of fundamental rights protected by the U.S. and California Constitutions, the complaint states.
Gavin Newsom over the state s recent ban on outdoor dining.
Angela Marsden, who owns Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Sherman Oaks, said that she spent tens of thousands of dollars to set up her restaurant for outdoor dining, only to be told it was no longer allowed.
The lawsuit said that Newsom s order is a violation of the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Defendants, in a gross abuse of their power, have seized the Coronavirus pandemic to expand their authority by unprecedented lengths, depriving Plaintiff and all other similarly situated small business owners in California of fundamental rights protected by the U.S. and California Constitutions, the complaint states.