Restaurants File Lawsuit Against St. Louis County Over COVID-19 Orders

Dozens of restaurants have banded together to sue St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, dubbing his stay-at-home order in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic an “existential threat” to business.

The class action lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court of the County of St. Louis on Wednesday (November 18), says that Page hasn’t proved that the virus spread stems from restaurants, KSDK reported Wednesday afternoon. Officials from the restaurants say that county officials don’t have the power to ban indoor dining.

“Restaurants have struggled through many of the orders and the pandemic in general by operating with limited capacity dining rooms and with various other restrictions in place,” the lawsuit reads.”Many have been able to take advantage of nice weather for outdoor seating. (But the current stay-at-home order) comes at a time when outdoor seating will be phased out naturally by winter.”

“Plaintiffs, in addition to the Missouri Restaurant Association, are local restaurant owners who depend on restaurants for their livelihoods and to provide jobs to others,” it continues. “They believe in safely operating their restaurants by social distancing, wearing masks, sanitizing surfaces, and limiting capacity, but they also believe the they must operate with indoor dining to economically survive.”

A spokesperson for Page declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday.

St. Louis County implemented a safe at home order, a revised quarantine and isolation procedures order, and a strengthened face covering/mask order, all slated to take effect Tuesday (November 17), according to the county.

Statewide, there have been 30,049 new COVID-19 cases from November 9 through November 15, reaching a rate of 490 cases per 100,000 residents.

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