OXNARD, California – It has been almost a month since Ventura County filed a lawsuit against several gyms and restaurants for violating COVID’s health orders. A businessman is reacting and taking the case to a federal court.
Mrs. Olson’s Café in Oxnard is operating outside and inside, despite health orders. But staying open has been a battle.
“I’ve been through so many threats from the county,” said Matt Brimigion, who owns Mrs. Olson’s Café. “They were trying to evict me and do everything they could, calling me a public nuisance.”
Ventura County has filed lawsuits against more than a dozen local businesses for violating health orders. The iconic breakfast spot was one of them, but owner Matt Brimigion reacted in court on Tuesday.
“We went to court on charges that were brought against me by the County for being a public nuisance,” said Brimigion. “And for the temporary restraining order. We were able to remove them and transfer them to a federal court. “
“This is a constitutional issue,” said Ronda Baldwin-Kennedy, who is representing Ms. Olsons. “They want companies to be closed, so they must be compensated to the extent that it is constitutionally required.”
Baldwin-Kennedy is also representing 6 other local companies facing legal action. She says the charges against Mrs. Olsen have not all been dropped and that the case is pending.
“I remove all state lawsuits that the county has imposed and take them to federal court,” said Baldwin-Kennedy. “We just received an email this morning that all the cases I am representing have been transferred to a lawyer in another county and they want to talk to us and resolve this issue.”
The Ventura County issued a statement that says the next step is to try to get the federal court to agree to return the case to the state court, which will take several days. Despite the controversy, customers are still showing up.
“If opening my doors and serving food to the general public and having music and making people happy is a public hassle, then I am guilty of that,” said Brimigion.
Brimigion is acting against the county, pressing to remove four members of the board of supervisors.
“Of the five members of the city council, 4 of them voted to start a case against me, so what they did is unfair, so we will go after them,” said Brimigion. “We started a recall process for the four board members who came after us.”