A Los Angeles judge issued a tentative decision Tuesday and stated that LA County “acted arbitrarily” and “failed to perform the required risk-benefit analysis” when it banned outdoor dining as a coronavirus-control measure as COVID-19 cases continue to spike in Southern California.
Superior Court Judge James Chalfant also noted that, however, that due to the state’s overriding regional stay-at-home order through the Christmas holiday that also includes an in-person dining ban, “outdoor restaurant dining in the county cannot reopen at this time.”
Judge Chalfant wrote that L.A. 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.”
