The Anchorage Township on Saturday sought a contempt of court hearing after a local diner dismissed a judge’s ruling to stop indoor dining services.
The city’s motion asks the judge in the case for “the extraordinary remedy of contempt sanctions” against the restaurant, Kriner’s Diner, and its owners. The city’s motion also accuses the restaurant’s lawyer, Blake Quackenbush, of “actively encouraging and participating in the ongoing violation” and states that he should be sanctioned by the court.
In its order Friday, Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth wrote that the public would suffer “irreparable damage” if companies like Kriner’s were allowed to clear emergency 15 from the city, which last week blocked indoor dining at restaurants and breweries. The order of the city is intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
On Saturday morning, Kriner’s Diner was open, with a line of customers waiting outside. The restaurant has been full all week with dinners supporting its stand against the city order.
“We are incredibly disappointed that they continue to choose to whisper the law if they already have the attention of the superior court and can have their day in court to make their case that the emergency order is not valid,” he said. written statement from Carolyn Hall, spokeswoman for the city.
“The idea that Kriner’s should be immune to emergency orders issued to protect health and safety in our community ignores the reality that most people in Anchorage maintain: our children do not go to school in person; our suspects do not receive jury versions; our grandparents in residential homes are sitting in the head waiting for the rest of us to make the community safe for them to hug their grandparents; and our epidemiologists and hospitals have warned that we could be out of ICU beds next month if the July trends continue, ”the statement said. “In this new world, when the transmission of the virus community is widespread, it is reasonable to expect our residents from leaders to take actions necessary to maintain life and health in a community, including to to ask this dinner to temporarily turn to takeout, delivery and outside food. ”
The dinner was represented by family law attorney Blake Fulton Quackenbush’s attorney Quackenbush.
“We have a great customer with a great company and we have no further comment at this time,” said Katie Payton, manager of the company on Saturday night after submitting the city
Andy Kriner, who is having dinner with Norann Kriner, could not be reached immediately for comment Saturday night after the city’s announcement.
During Friday’s court hearing, Quackenbush claimed the city also showed no evidence that business practices at Kriner’s Diner contributed to the spread of COVID-19.
Quackenbush argued that the emergency order violated the Alaska Constitution because it exempted the Criners from their right to work. He also said the city gives the Kriners and other restaurant owners “disparate and unique treatment”. Other employers running similar companies where mask wear cannot be observed, such as gyms, are not equally shut down, he said.
City Attorney Kate Vogel told a community committee Friday afternoon that “if anyone wants to challenge the constitutionality of a law, they are obviously entitled to do so, but they are not entitled not to comply pending that judicial resolution.”
Earlier, Kriner took over problems with the idea that opening the restaurant threatens public health.
‘If I thought I was putting someone in danger I would not open up. “I just do not believe I am,” he told the Daily News last week.
Earlier Saturday, Kriner said he would lose half of the restaurant’s revenue by going to take-out alone. He said that ‘just a slow, silent death in the restaurant business would be if all you did was take-out. You would not make it in the end. ‘
In their contempt move Saturday, city attorneys said they are not trying to take the suspects prisoner. After all, they want to ensure that the restaurant stops the indoor dining service “to protect the health and safety of the residents of Anchorage.” By staying open, the suspects “knowingly” imposed a $ 600 fine every day, according to the documents. But that has not been enough to stop them from serving din-in services, the motion says.
That is, the municipality now wants to have an order with a fine of $ 5,000 per day for violating the order, on top of other fines.
The motion alleges that Kriner was aware of the judge’s decision but would continue with service to the inside, based on an interview posted on Facebook on Saturday.
The city claims that Kriner’s attorney, Quackenbush, “actively encourages and participates in the ongoing violation.” The lawyer posted a video on Saturday to a Facebook group showing a full dinner entitled “Americans protesting peacefully in a historic ‘sit-in’! Breakfast is served.”
Quackenbush also commented on the post, according to the documents, saying, “We have the right to work and support our families and communities. If you are healthy, then go out and go to businesses and encourage businesses to have the courage “It’s crazy to think we’re fighting for the right to work and to support our families!”
The messages appeared Saturday night in the Facebook group, although Quackenbush was mentioned as a member.
According to court documents, a city attorney called Quackenbush on Friday after hearing that Kriner’s committed despite the order and “advised his client to follow the court’s order.” Quackenbush said he had not seen the order, documents say, so the lawyer sent him a copy. He replied that he had told his clients to follow the order, the documents say.
However, the documents state that based on his social media posts Saturday, “Quackenbush is actively working to undermine the Order of EO-15, despite acknowledging that it was his duty to inform his client not to violate the law.”
The city is seeking at the discretion of the Court a monetary sanction against Quackenbush, documents say, because of his “shocking behavior.”
By posting the video from inside the dinner and posting a distinction of Kriner ‘consciously involuntary of the court order’s, Quackenbush’s documents “consciously written” say the court’s order, the emergency order and the Alaska Professional Code of Conduct.
In addition, “he just encouraged others to commit behaviors that he knew were illegal.”
His follow-up comment on the post shows that Quackenbush “knowingly helped or induced his client and others to infringe or attempt to sue the Court of Justice,” which, according to the motion, could be sanctioned.
When asked about the court’s decision on Friday on a community day later in the day, Berkowitz said in a briefing on Friday that it was a ‘difficult day’ and that he did not take any joy. in the decision, because Alaskans need to resolve issues without going to court.
“I think the importance of protecting public health through these public health mandates is so important that the law should apply to everyone,” he said. “And if we want it to be as effective as possible, everyone must comply.”
Pushback on the city’s pandemic policy is growing. Anchorage experts say the risks of the pandemic are also growing.
Berkowitz said he wants to bring down the number of COVID-19 cases with a collective effort to resolve some restrictions. The mayor said he was gratified by the vast majority of companies following the order.
“I know it’s easy to follow the outliers, and that’s what happened,” he said. “And they’ve got a disproportionate amount of publicity for what they do.”
The mayor said indoor dining is considered ‘high-risk behavior’, according to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and said that if the city and the country had better traces of contacts, they could better close certain businesses. Instead, they make “broad-based decisions” based on what is known as high-risk, until they know more.
“Those who politicize the response to a pandemic are really publishing health,” Berkowitz said. ‘And they also pose a great risk to our economic well-being, and they must therefore be held accountable. There is no partisan advantage in making people sick and maintaining the pandemic. “
