Restaurant owners say they are being unfairly penalized for following the law and being charged for permits that can’t use
By Kerry Slater
California restaurants recently filed government claims to recover over $100 million in fees for permits they were assessed for even though their restaurants were forced to close or allowed to only partially operate due to COVID-19 restrictions.
A lawsuit filed by a collection of California restaurant owners on October 29 seeks $100 million from the government.
The restaurants say that both state and local governments have continued to levy fees for health permits, liquor licenses and tourism assessments despite being shut down or permitted to operate only with restricted capacity.
“The irony is they did what they were told and the very entity that told them to close is keeping these fees,” attorney Brian Kabateck, who is representing restaurants, told the LA Times. “Somebody has to tell them this is wrong and to return the money,”
The owners argue that they are being unfairly penalized for following the law and being charged for permits that can’t use.
