COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) – The Maryland Restaurant Association announced Friday that it has filed lawsuits against three state jurisdictions with the goal of restoring the indoor and outdoor dining.
The group’s president and CEO, Marshall Weston, Jr., announced during a press conference Friday morning that he was seeking temporary restraining orders and preliminary precautionary measures against the city of Baltimore, as well as Montgomery and Prince George counties.
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The lawsuit calls for setting capacity limits at the same level as statewide permits under the latest order from Governor Larry Hogan.
Weston said the latest restrictions on restaurants could cause thousands more to close their doors permanently.
“Restaurants have continued to operate safely and there is no evidence linking the spread of COVID to restaurants,” he said. “Relying on the potential for spread is not evidence, and it is not really happening. If restaurants were indeed a source of COVID, we would have seen significant increases while restaurants opened with a capacity of 75%, and that did not happen.
Closing the meal in person and leaving workers out of work weeks before the holidays “because of a government mandate” is “totally unfair,” he added.
Maryland restaurants are announcing legal action to overturn restaurant restrictions @wjz pic.twitter.com/oRievJnVte
– Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) December 18, 2020
Earlier this month, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced in his first full day in office several new restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, including the closure of indoor and outdoor dining halls. These rules went into effect at 5pm on December 11th.
On Friday afternoon, Scott said he had just been informed of the lawsuit, adding that the city’s law department and attorney were reviewing it.
He defended the stricter order and added that the city’s plans adhere to the four-week period set out last week.
“What we did was guided by science and public health advice, period,” he said.
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Lawyers representing some of the restaurants said they hope these companies can offer indoor and outdoor dinners for Christmas.
Lawyers representing restaurants say they hope to stop banning indoor and outdoor dining across the state through the courts in a matter of days and hope restaurants can be open for Christmas #BREAK @wjz pic.twitter.com/YzwcY82nDo
– Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) December 18, 2020
The announcement comes days after a judge blocked the ban on covered food in Anne Arundel County hours before it went into effect. The ban was designed to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
READ MORE: COVID-19 Last: Judge blocks food ban in Anne Arundel County, says restrictions go unfairly to restaurants
Watch the full press conference below:
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