A judge ruled against Los Angeles County’s outdoor dining ban, saying the county “acted arbitrarily” when enacting the policy and that the county’s argument was not backed by the available evidence.
“By failing to weigh the benefits of an outdoor dining restriction against its costs, the county acted arbitrarily and its decision lacks a rational relationship to a legitimate end,” Superior Court Judge James Chalfant wrote in a tentative ruling.
FOX LA reporter Bill Melugin later provided an update, reporting that the judge ruled against the dining ban.
“UPDATE: It’s official, judge rules against L.A. County dining ban & slams the county in process, saying they provided no evidence, made an arbitrary decision, & their orders are ineffective/nobody listens,” Melugin said. “But outdoor dining still banned under state order now.”
UPDATE: It’s official, judge rules against L.A. County dining ban & slams the county in process, saying they provided no evidence, made an arbitrary decision, & their orders are ineffective/nobody listens.
But outdoor dining still banned under state order now.
Details ?? @FOXLA https://t.co/brP78RgBuk— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) December 8, 2020
Chalfant wrote in his decision that the county “could be expected to consider the economic cost of closing 30,000 restaurants, the impact to restaurant owners and their employees, and the psychological and emotional cost to a public tired of the pandemic.”
County Attorney Amnon Siegel countered that the kind of economic analysis the judge was insisting on was a “borderline impossible task” and is not required by law.
Siegel also argued that secondary transmission of COVID-19 was a major problem in the county and that the ruling would put people at risk.
But Chalfant said the county’s argument was not backed by the available evidence, noting that of nonresidential settings that have tracked three or more COVID-19 cases, “fewer than 10% are restaurants. Of the 2,257 cases identified on the list, fewer than 5% originate from restaurants.”
Chalfant’s ruling, however, will not result in outdoor dining resuming in Los Angeles County due to the state’s regional stay-at-home order remaining in place through Christmas. Because of that, he wrote that “outdoor restaurant dining in the County cannot reopen at this time.”
