[Cris Alarcon]
Evelyn Veerkamp asks – “Paragraphs 6 & 7 [of the County Press Release] make me wonder what the County actually will do” to the Apple Bistro.
The County [Administrative body] has sent it to the Courts [Judicial body] after failing to reach a compromise so it is now, and will stay in the Courts until the Court decides.
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Unless the defendants reach a compromise nearly exactly as was reached with the other two, it will stay in the court.
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The STATE mandated penalty cannot be waived except by the State [that is unlikely].
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There will not be a “different” kind of settlement made for the Bistro than has been made for the other two.
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The Court [Dept 9 Judge Dylan Sullivan] will enforce State & County regulations regarding the Mandatory requirement of a Health Permit for ALL feed service establishments. [I have watched her rulings and they are straight on the law regardless of her own beliefs.] The need for a Health Permit is well established in law.
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The Penalty Fines are also well established in law to force a business into compliance or out of business! That would be $500 dollars per day of service, cumulatively.
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Now that the Court has made an Order, violation of that order is Criminal, not Civil!
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The Business and owners have effectively been “Red Tagged” until Compliant. That is serious as those in business understand.
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The real hammer is three-fold:
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1) The cost government work is seldom cost-efficient so the burden of paying the County’s cost of this lawsuit is potentially over $100,000 if it is a protracted fight!
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2) Applying for, and accepting the S22,736 in compensation for being out-of-business due to Covid, and then staying open is easy to argue as Fraud!
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3) Already a large sum has been attached from their business account from OSHA to ensure employees are protected while the business operated illegally. Part of that means that their Unemployment Insurance rate will skyrocket! Employees will now be able to make a claim for unemployment compensation due to the Manner the Owner’s operated. The increased “rate” will take YEARS to decline regardless of of current actions. That will dramatically increase their Payroll cost for a long time to come and will follow the owner regardless of any new businesses they may start or control.
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Letting it get this far is very bad business.
It is a good News-generating social protest, but exceptionally bad for business from a financial perspective.
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The sooner they compromise and back-track as much as possible, the less it will cost them now and in the future. The way they have sacrificed the business viability in order to make a social statement means they have devalued the resale value of the business.
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From a Business analysis, they have tanked the business and are now personally liable, as well as degraded any future business prospects in the State.
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Neglecting to answer the Charges in court was foolish. A Court Order against the business, the owners, and ANYONE that acts as an Agent or Employee is a “game changer.”
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Now the Court will determine law and apply it.
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Soon I will post the Case filling that contains important information on the case against them.
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The county Press Release is to clarify that only two of the three businesses have been dismissed by coming into compliance and to explain why. It is not about the Case against the remaining party.
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This is a long “short” answer that is based on what I have read and my background including the mandatory “Business Law” classes that are part of a Business B.A. in our state. I may well be wrong in some ways but at this point the owner’s are just shooting themselves in their foot.
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As for the County, unless the Apple Bistro owner is wanting to accept the same terms of the other two businesses, they will let it to the Court to decide. The court will be be dispassionate in interpreting the law.