FORT LAUDERDALE – A federal judge issued a restraining order last month against a Broward County coronavirus order aimed at keeping bars and restaurants closed between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.
Several bars and restaurants in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood objected to the county restriction in litigation in the Southern District of Florida. They argued the county order presenting the sale of alcohol or the consumption of food during the overnight hours violated Gov. Ron DeSantis’ COVID-19 order in September, which bans local ordinances that restrict restaurant capacity unless certain findings are made.
Those findings include a calculation of the economic impact on the restaurants affected and an explanation of why the restriction would be needed to safeguard public health.
“The portion of County Emergency Order 20-28 restricting food and alcoholic beverage service from the hours of midnight to 5 a.m. is speculative and arbitrary as presented,” Judge Raag Singhal said in his Dec. 21 decision. He added that the order failed to address the language in the governor’s order dealing with economic impacts and public health findings.
Broward County officials are appealing the district court ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, which is not a party in the litigation, supports the governor’s efforts to streamline public health rules during the pandemic.
“FRLA and our members greatly appreciate everything Gov. DeSantis has done to make the laws and rules uniform, to reduce confusion and make compliance easier,” Ashley Chambers, the FRLA spokeswoman, told the Florida Record. “... While this case is clearly a struggle between state and local authorities, we await a final determination by the courts and will certainly comply.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the hospitality industry and left hotels and restaurants more economically vulnerable, according to Chambers.
“Throughout 2020, it was challenging that there were so many local orders in addition to the statewide executive orders, as many of our members required assistance in understanding the many layers of rules – local and state,” she said.
The plaintiffs contend that Broward County’s restrictions significantly constrained the businesses’ ability to recover. In addition, they argued, the county has failed to prove that the coronavirus is more likely to spread during the overnight hours when compared to daytime hours – or that restaurants are more vulnerable to the virus than other businesses.