Mrs. Olson Coffee Hut v. County of Ventura

I. Introduction

On January 25, 2021, “Mrs. Olson’s Coffee Hut, a proprietorship DBA William Olson and Matt Olson …” (the “Coffee Hut”) and “The Original Pizza Cookery and Jordan Daniel Klemper” (the “Pizza Cookery”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) brought this action against the County of Ventura (“Ventura”) and Robert Levin, M.D., in his capacity as Ventura Health Officer (“Levin”) (collectively, the “Ventura Parties”). Dkt. 1. The claims asserted arise from the actions by the Ventura Parties to enforce COVID-19 public health orders at restaurants operated by Plaintiffs. The Complaint asserts three causes of action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983: (i) inverse condemnation in violation of the Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment; (ii) denial of substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment; and (iii) denial of procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. Dkt. 1 ¶¶ 29-77.

The same day that Plaintiffs filed the Complaint, they also removed two cases that were pending in the Ventura Superior Court: (i) County of Ventura, et al. v. The Original Pizza Cookery, et al., No. 56-2021- 00549347-CU-MC-CTA (Ventura Superior Court, January 8, 2021) (the “Pizza Cookery…