A Los Angeles bar owner is teaming up with high-powered attorneys to go after Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state of California in federal court after winning a case in a Los Angeles County court over outdoor dining restrictions.
Newsom and other state officials “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,” according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiff in the case is the Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill, which garnered national attention earlier this month after its owner posted a viral video expressing outrage that an outdoor dining area for a Hollywood studio was permitted by the city, but her business was forced to shut down its outdoor dining area.
Bar owner in Los Angeles CA is livid to see that mayor Garcetti has approved an outdoor dining area for a movie company directly across from her outdoor dining area (which was shut down) pic.twitter.com/jkUP2CWg35
— Jake Coco ????? (@jakecoco) December 4, 2020
“I walk into my parking lot, and obviously, Mayor [Eric] Garcetti has approved this,” the owner, Angela Marsden, said in the video while pointing out the outdoor dining area the movie studio set up with large tents and tables.
“I’m losing everything,” Marsden continued. “Everything I own is being taken away from me. And they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio, and people wonder why I’m protesting and why I have had enough.”
The lawsuit, which also names California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and acting State Public Health Officer Erica Pan, points out that the state allows retailers, grocery stores, marijuana dispensaries, and film productions to operate but does not extend that opportunity to restaurants setting up outdoor dining areas.
According to FOX LA reporter Bill Melugin, Pineapple Hill Grill & Saloon will be represented by high-powered attorneys Mark Geragos and Harmeet K. Dhillon.
The two attorneys recently scored a victory in a Los Angeles County court, where a judge said the county “acted arbitrarily” when enacting the outdoor dining ban and criticized county officials for using policies that weren’t backed by the available evidence.
But the judge also noted that the state’s overarching restrictions would still prevent businesses from opening, setting the stage for the current lawsuit.
Newsom has continued to insist that the state’s restrictions are necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19, with Los Angeles County, in particular, experiencing a surge of cases in recent weeks.
