LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Three owners of dine-in restaurants are suing the state and Los Angeles County, demanding compensation for what they say was the government's use of their property to mitigate an emergency when they were forced to stop indoor dining under coronavirus restrictions.
James P. Trani, Steve Patrick and John Marvoich brought the 250-page suit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging the forced closures amounted to a government taking, and violated their rights of free speech and assembly. The court papers do not name the restaurants they own.
“The government's order being without any connection to the plaintiffs, and each of them, is an irrational and unnecessary order to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus by punishing the irrelevant plaintiffs who are virus-free and pose absolutely no risk of spreading the virus,'' the suit states. “Plaintiffs allege that the government shutdown order was not rationally related to a or any governmental interest as it was unsupported by any evidence and defined logic, nature, and/or common sense.''
Before the closures, Trani operated his restaurant at a profit for 30 years, while Marvoich's eatery was in the black for 20 years and Patrick's for 11 years, the suit states.
A representative for the Attorney General's Office could not be immediately reached.
The plaintiffs' businesses have never been the source of the COVID-19 or any other virus, the suit states.
“Plaintiffs have always practiced excellent sanitation practices to wipe out all contamination,'' according to the suit. “The guiding principle is that customers do not return to dirty and/or diseased restaurants.''
The ongoing washing of hands as well as the sanitizing of table, counters, chairs, kitchens, utensils and uniforms is “not just customary, but mandated'' by the business owners, who have adequate filtered ventilation as required by the various Health and Safety Codes to remove bacteria and virus in the air, the suit states.
“Plaintiffs had their property used by the government entities to stop a virus that was never a problem on their property,'' the suit states.
The state's March 2020 closure order “was intended to and did deprive plaintiff of fundamental right of speech and assembly and of their investment intent to make a profit,'' according to the suit.
The plaintiffs daily encouraged and participated in the exchange of ideas and opinions with customers with topics ranging from politics, sports and local school districts, the suit states.
By comparison, grocery stores have seen unprecedented rates of coronavirus infections, making it likelier than ever that a co-worker or customer could become ill and that a single case could multiply into dozens, the suit states.
All of the plaintiffs have suffered emotional distress in addition to lost revenues, the suit states.
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