PARRIS Law Firm Forced to File Lawsuit Against Los Angeles County Over Burdensome Reopening Guidelines

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Oct 14, 2020, 16:48 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The PARRIS Law Firm was forced to file a lawsuit against Los Angeles County on behalf of a Palmdale brewery after the County once again implemented unnecessary and burdensome standards on breweries seeking to reopen.

Under current State guidelines, breweries and wineries are allowed to reopen outdoor operations, so long as food is purchased with drinks. The State guidelines allow breweries and wineries who lack an onsite kitchen to sell food prepared by third party food vendors.

Under the County's original guidelines, breweries and wineries who lacked an onsite kitchen were not allowed to contract with food vendors. Like Transplants, most breweries lack a kitchen in which to prepare food. As a result, the County's original guidelines resulted in an almost complete shutdown of most of Los Angeles' microbreweries.

The PARRIS Law Firm threatened to sue the County unless it took action to change the guidelines and allow breweries to contract with food vendors. On October 6, 2020, the County revised its guidelines, but unfortunately chose to continue to treat such breweries and wineries differently making it difficult for them to compete with those who have onsite kitchens.

The revised guidelines allow breweries such as Transplants to reopen by contracting with a third party food vendors, but place additional restrictions on such breweries and wineries. For example, the County now mandates that such breweries can only seat outdoor customers who have made prior reservations at least one (1) day in advance. Breweries and wineries who serve food prepared in onsite kitchens are not subject to this restriction. Los Angeles is the only county in the State to make this distinction.

While the county claims the revised guideline ensures proper social distancing, the suit alleges the County is discriminating against breweries and wineries that lack onsite kitchens. Every establishment that serves food must follow the same social distancing guidelines, and there is no evidence that breweries serving food prepared by food vendors have greater difficulty meeting those standards.

"The County went from one contradictory double standard to a completely different double standard," said attorney Khail Parris. "Social distancing is an issue for every type of restaurant, office and mall in the state; to have a 24-hour reservation standard for just one type of establishment is purely discriminatory."

"Small businesses such as Transplants should not have to sue their own government in order to get officials to make common sense laws and standards," said attorney R. Rex Parris. "This is now the second time we have had to stand up to County officials who do not seem to understand science, data, or their own health and safety guidelines."

A copy of the lawsuit can be found here.

About PARRIS Law Firm

The PARRIS Law Firm is recognized as one of America's top personal injury, employment, and environmental law firms. With a proven track record of fighting for justice on behalf of families and individuals, the firm boasts numerous seven and eight-figure verdicts and settlements. To learn more about the firm, please go to: www.parris.com

Contact
Dante Hickles 661.949.2595
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SOURCE PARRIS Law Firm