Restaurant held in contempt for violating COVID restrictions, Washington judge says

A restaurant in Washington is being held in contempt of court for offering indoor dining after a restraining order was issued demanding it comply with state COVID-19 restrictions, a Thurston County judge ruled Tuesday.

The restaurant, Farm Boy Drive-In in south Thurston County, faces a $2,000 fine for every day it continues to offer indoor dining, according to the contempt charge.

“We need to fight,” Brian Robbins, Farm Boy’s owner, told a crowd of supporters who gathered at the Thurston County Superior Court building in protest of the judge’s order, a Facebook live video shows. “We need to bring it to the governor’s house.”

The restaurant will be closed for the remainder of this week, a spokesperson for Farm Boy said.

“[The hearing] didn’t go as we hoped,” the spokesperson said in a Facebook Live video. “We need to take some time and a couple days to regroup and figure out what we’re going to do for us, for our employees ... financially, for our community.”

The Department of Labor and Industries filed a motion on Dec. 23 to hold the restaurant in contempt. The motion was filed after investigators drove by and discovered the restaurant was still serving customers inside, Tim Church, a spokesman for the department, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

The department also noted that the restaurant had made public statements about continuing to offer indoor dining, which was addressed in the Thurston County Superior Court hearing Tuesday.

Contempt hearing

Michael Hall, the assistant attorney general representing the state labor department, referred to statements made online by the Farm Boy that it would continue indoor dining. A video on the restaurant’s Facebook page posted shortly after the restaurant’s first hearing on Dec. 22 indicated that the restaurant would be “keeping its doors open,” but later the poster said she could not “confirm or deny that we are open for dine-in seating.”

“You can drive by and see if we are open for dine-in seating but I cannot publicly say that,” the spokesperson said.

The Farm Boy’s attorney, Jason Celski, requested a two-week continuance at the Dec. 22 hearing, which was granted by the judge.

On Tuesday, Celski again asked for a continuance, saying the state had not given appropriate notice, but the judge denied that request.

Judge Chris Lanese stated at the first hearing that he expected Farm Boy to comply with the temporary restraining order issued after Hall noted a representative had seen the restaurant offering indoor dining. Celski claimed at Tuesday’s hearing that he did not know whether the restaurant was still offering indoor dining.

While Celski argued that the declarations offered by the department were “based on speculation,” the judge ruled in favor of the state, finding Farm Boy in contempt.

The department has fined Farm Boy $86,751 for Dec. 8 to 17, according to Dina Lorraine, a spokesperson for Labor and Industries.

“The purpose is not to punish the defendant but to bring them into compliance,” the judge said.

Temporary restraining order

The Farm Boy became the second restaurant in Washington to be served a restraining order for violating the state’s COVID-19 restrictions by opening for indoor dining, McClatchy previously reported. The first was Fairway Cafe in Lynden, “which stopped providing indoor dining after receiving the court order from a Whatcom County Superior Court judge,” Church told McClatchy earlier this month.

The department also issued “an order and notice of immediate restraint to [the restaurant]” on Dec. 7, which “required the employer to immediately cease the business activity of indoor dine-in service,” according to Thurston County Superior Court documents. After receiving that order on Dec. 8, Farm Boy continued to offer indoor dining, documents say.

Ignoring the department’s order resulted in the court’s restraining order, McClatchy reported.

“Violation of this order is a gross misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than [$10,000] or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both,” documents say. “Violation of this order may also subject the violator to Contempt of Court.”

Washington prohibits indoor dining

The Farm Boy Drive In reopened for indoor dining on Dec. 2, according to a Facebook post from the restaurant. Gov. Jay Inslee prohibited restaurants from offering indoor dining in a guidance that went into effect on Nov. 18, McClatchy News previously reported.

The guidance, which will remain in place until Jan. 11, prohibits people who don’t live together from having social gatherings indoors unless “they quarantine for 14 days prior to the social gathering or quarantine for seven days prior … and received a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 48-hours prior to the gathering,” according to the governor’s website.

Restaurants, however, can’t operate indoor dining services under those terms, the guidance says, and there are strict rules for them to follow if they offer outdoor dining.

More than 3,000 deaths in Washington

The Washington Department of Health reports that “food service/restaurant” businesses top the list for COVID-19 outbreaks outside of health care settings, with 221 outbreaks reported during the course of the pandemic as of Dec. 26.

The state’s Emergency Operations Center received an average of 533 complaints about COVID-19 rule violations at businesses “when new restrictions were announced in mid-November,” according to Church.

Washington state has reported 240,846 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,369 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the Department of Health.

This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 3:24 PM.