Courts rule against California lockdowns
California courts dealt a blow this month against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 mandates, which forced businesses to close and cleaned out churches for more than a year.
It’s been two years since Newsom locked down America’s leading economic powerhouse with a strict disaster declaration that slowed commerce and prompted a pandemic exodus. A trio of rulings show that businesses are starting to see justice in the courts for alleged misery they say was unjustly imposed.
“It will be a chilling effect for the tyrants of the future,” civil rights attorney Mark Meuser told the Washington Examiner. “These [court rulings] are needed to rein in the abuse of emergency powers by tyrant Newsom.”
Two cases involve businesses that protested shutdowns, and a third was brought by a church that was also part of a sweeping closure order during 2020 that shuttered 40,000 businesses — more than any other state. And one-third of California’s restaurants are permanently closed, according to media reports.
“The entire pandemic response was very hypocritical,” said Meuser, who has brought 22 lawsuits against Newsom, including four that he won in the U.S. Supreme Court. “The local flower shop was not allowed to operate, but you can buy flowers at a grocery store. Local electronics stores could not operate, but big box stores like Walmart are open.”
In the cases this month, one stands out as a groundbreaking issue that could set limits on government control.
Images Luxury Nails in Orange County sued for damages, citing the state’s emergency declaration law, which says the government must pay “reasonable value” for properties that are commandeered in an emergency. Newsom declared that spas, gyms, and salons were breeding grounds for COVID-19, and those businesses suffered the lengthiest shutdowns.
“Gavin Newsom picked and chose who was allowed to open and who was closed,” Meuser said. “When he ordered certain businesses to shut down, he was commandeering those businesses for the betterment of everybody.”
A Superior Court judge refused the state’s request to dismiss the case, and it will proceed to trial.
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A second business, Tinhorn Flats Saloon & Grill , was sued by the city of Burbank for being a public nuisance and ignoring a $50,000 fine incurred by staying open. The restaurant, which has since permanently closed, fought back with a lawsuit of its own. The owners claimed they were targeted after criticizing the city in the media, violating their First Amendment rights.
The city of Burbank shut off the restaurant’s power and put a fence around the property when the owners refused to close, while other restaurants stayed open, court papers said. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge refused the state’s request to dismiss the counter lawsuit.
Finally, Calvary Chapel San Jose will not have to pay $200,000 in fines racked up by defying shutdown orders, a state appellate court ruled last week . Newsom lost five Supreme Court cases in which rulings were handed down saying the shutdowns violated religious freedom, among other federally protected rights.
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Newsom's unwarranted attack on commerce and religious freedom deserves these rulings. He has cost untold damage to California businesses and communities. He is one of the worst governors in the country who was dead wrong about the pandemic and now thinks he should be President. No wonder California lost population as people fled to Texas and Mexico.
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