An LA judge has ruled in favor of the California Restaurant Association over outdoor dining.
LA County health officials are handed a legal defeat in court on the issue of outdoor dining.
He has tentatively ruled that LA County acted "arbitrarily" and without "rational" justification when it ordered a closure to all outdoor dining at restaurants, in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
He says LA County health officials acted "arbitrarily" and without a proper "risk-benefit" analysis when they banned outdoor dining as a coronavirus-control measure. But despite the victory, there will be no outdoor dining because of the state's regional order that went into effect Sunday night.
The judge was not satisfied with the medical evidence that the county had.
The judge made it clear that he agrees there is a growing shortage of ICU beds across Los Angeles County and Southern California, but he told LA County's lawyers and LA County health officials they haven't specifically studied how coronavirus transmission risk is greater from outdoor dining.
The judge said it is a failure of government that in nine months the county and the state has not done any research into whether outdoor dining specifically contributes to a rise in COVID cases.
Last week, "Superior Court Judge James Chalfant allowed the county's order barring patio dining to remain in place, but he directed county attorneys to return to court and present the medical evidence about COVID-19 transmission being used to justify the ban," a previous CNS story reported.
Outdoor dining was banned a few weeks ago as cases surged in LA County. LA County also issued its own Safer at Home order prior to the state's new regional Stay at Home order.
The judge is holding a hearing on the issue at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Dennis Ellis, the attorney representing the California Restaurant Association, tells KNX 1070 News that doesn't change his case.
"The Governor has not singled out outdoor dining as a particular problem. When it is appropriate for the Governor to lift his Safer at Home order, we can go back to outdoor dining. Without our lawsuit, that would not be the case," Ellis says.