County pursuing COVID fines
One of the small-business owners sued calls the action `excessive and unreasonable'
While its battles with Calvary Chapel and California Ripped Fitness over millions of dollars in Covid-related health fines have grabbed the headlines, Santa Clara County has been quietly pursuing legal action against a handful of small businesses that have refused to pay for their own infractions.
According to court documents filed between October and March, the county is suing six other establishments in San Jose, Los Gatos and Sunnyvale for not paying fines ranging from $13,200 to $43,450. The targeted businesses include a massage therapy facility, cafe, salon, packing supply center, grill and hookah lounge.
The lawsuits allege that over the last two years, those businesses violated public health orders meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by failing to enforce mask and social distancing rules and by operating during prohibited periods. The county also claims the businesses were given multiple warnings about the fines — and even offered options — but repeatedly ignored them.
Of the eight lawsuits, those against California Ripped Fitness and Monroe Hookah Lounge are the only ones that have been resolved, according to the county counsel. On March 14, the San Jose gym, which had been sued for not paying more than $1 million in fines, agreed to pony up about $300,000 over 10 years, court documents show. California Ripped Fitness did not respond to a request for comment, nor did an attorney for Monroe
Hookah Lounge, which was fined $14,850.
At least two owners of the other six businesses being sued intend to take on the county in court.
James Griffiths, a San Jose salon owner who kept cutting hair early in the pandemic in defiance of county rules that banned nonessential businesses from operating, is being sued for not paying $20,350 in fines.
“I have every intention of fighting them all the way,” Griffiths said while sitting inside his salon on South Market Street. While the fine isn't as large as those that the county levied against Calvary Chapel or California Ripped Fitness, he said it is a sizable amount for a small business like his. When asked why he chose to defy the county health rules, he said he disagreed with how the county went about deciding which businesses were essential and which weren't.
“Closing us down completely I think was absolutely unfair,” Griffiths said. “I just don't think it's fair for Walmart, Home Depot and the grimy liquor store down the street to be able to open, you know, because they sell Top Ramen.”
In its suit, the county said multiple letters and voicemails attempting to contact Griffiths about the fines went unanswered.
“Despite the County's diligent efforts, Defendants continued to ignore the County's attempts at collection,” the suit states.
Other business owners being sued are considering paying at least a portion of the fines.
Huy Banh, who runs The Grind Coffee House in San Jose, said he's trying to work with officials to pay somewhere between 30% to 50% of the $13,750 he owes. In its suit, the county alleges that Banh's cafe kept indoor service running when it wasn't supposed to, wasn't enforcing mask rules and didn't create enough space between tables for customers.
Banh questioned how the county was going about its enforcement. “What about the big businesses?” he said. “(I think it's) unfair to small businesses.”
According to a statement provided by the county, a “vast majority” of businesses abided by public health rules.
“Most who received notices worked to rectify the situation and most of those that needed to have paid their fines,” the statement read.
County Counsel James Williams said the businesses being sued “didn't pay (their fines) after repeated follow-up.”
“They've refused to pay,” he said, adding that the legal action against the businesses is a “matter of fairness and equity.” He pointed out that instead of keeping the fines, the county has distributed as much as $5,000 to small businesses through a grant program launched in August to help pay for costs incurred from the pandemic, such as buying masks or air filtration systems. Only small businesses that have complied with the county's health orders are eligible for the grant money.
The other businesses being sued are Crafthouse Bar and Grill in Sunnyvale for $27,775, JDM Packing Supply in San Jose for $43,450, and Los Gatos Massage for $13,200. A representative for the bar and grill declined to comment, and an email request to the packing supply company went unanswered. Kelly Ranger, who owns the massage therapy facility in Los Gatos, said she intends to fight the county's suit.
“I don't necessarily feel like I'm going to prevail, but I feel like I just can't do nothing,” Ranger said, calling the county's moves “excessive and unreasonable.”
Santa Clara appears to be the only county in the region that is taking legal action to collect fines. Spokespersons for San Francisco, Marin, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties all confirmed they have not sued any businesses that haven't yet paid public health fines. Alameda County did not respond to an inquiry about the matter.
In Contra Costa County, health officers temporarily stopped issuing fines despite receiving almost 90 complaints in November that businesses weren't checking indoor customers' proof of vaccination. When the Board of Supervisors learned the officers instead were trying to educate businesses about the mandate, it directed them to resume issuing fines.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara County is locked in a legal fight with Calvary Chapel, a San Jose church that repeatedly flouted public health rules over the last two years and has so far refused to pay $2.8 million in fines. The church is challenging the penalties in federal court, calling them “cruel and unusual punishment.” Earlier this month, a federal judge told the county that its legal efforts against Calvary Chapel had “mushroomed out of control” and urged it to resolve the case.