More than 50 wineries and restaurants spanning Napa and Sonoma counties are suing to overturn a state ban on in-person dining.
The lawsuit alleges the public health order for COVID-19 safety is built on misinformation about outdoor dining being a high risk for spreading the virus.
“We will not stand by as state regulations force our businesses to close, perpetuate financial hardship on our employees and cause skilled workers to flee [the] Wine Country and California more broadly,” the businesses argue in the complaint.
The governor’s office said in a statement that it will vigorously fight the lawsuit and expects to win. The order, it argued, is necessary to prevent the medical system from collapsing.
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The coalition said that statement “reflects a total lack of concern for the harm that his order—not backed by any solid evidence—is causing.”
The wineries and restaurants that Gov. Gavin Newsom's company owns in the region were not part of the coalition.
