A state appeals court panel has temporarily stayed a judge’s ordering finding that Los Angeles County health officials acted “arbitrarily” and without a proper “risk-benefit” analysis when they banned outdoor dining as a coronavirus-control measure beginning on Nov. 25.
The three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal issued its ruling Friday, directing Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant to show during a Feb. 10 hearing before the appellate court why his Dec. 15 order should not be vacated.
“The preliminary injunction order is stayed until further order of this court,” the appellate panel wrote.
In his ruling, Chalfant found that the county “failed to perform the required risk-benefit analysis” before enacting the ban, which took effect the night before Thanksgiving.
“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,” Chalfant wrote in his ruling, which stemmed from lawsuits filed by the California Restaurant Association and attorney Mark Geragos, owner of the Engine Co. No. 28 restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.
“The balance of harms works in petitioners’ favor until such time as the county concludes after proper risk-benefit analysis that restaurants must be closed to protect the healthcare system,” Chalfant wrote.
While siding with the restaurant industry, Chalfant noted that due to the state’s regional stay-at-home lockdown order that took effect Dec. 7 — and which also included a ban on in-person dining — “outdoor restaurant dining in the county cannot open at this time.”
Chalfant instead enjoined the county from imposing its dining ban beyond the original three-week time period, which ended Dec. 16. The state’s order is currently set to expire on Dec. 28, but Gov. Gavin Newsom indicated on Monday the lockdown will be almost definitely be continued due to the current surge in COVID-19 cases.
Some are now calling Los Angeles County the epicenter of the pandemic because of the skyrocketing number of new cases and hospitalizations and the region’s ICU’s being full.
Chalfant said the county — which is obliged to adhere to the state’s order — could only extend the restriction beyond the state’s “after conducting an appropriate risk-benefit analysis.”
On Sunday, the owner of a Sherman Oaks restaurant filed a federal court lawsuit challenging the state ban on in-person dining. Geragos filed the lawsuit on behalf of Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill owner Angela Marsden. Marsden made headlines with a viral video she posted expressing outrage that her patio had been shut down for outdoor service, while a Hollywood production company filming next door to her restaurant was permitted to set up an outdoor catering tent providing food to cast and crew members.
