Rocco’s Backpedals On Plans To Sue City

The owner of a popular Old Pasadena restaurant said he no longer plans to sue the city for damages that he’s incurred due to the business disruptions caused by COVID-19.

“I retracted it as it pertains to Pasadena,” Leo Amari, owner of Rocco’s Tavern, told Pasadena Now. “It’s a smaller city. I think its hands are tied by the county and the state, and they supported us for a long time. So we’ve taken that back.”

Amari said he now plans to sue the county and the state.

Other businesses, Amari said, have contacted him about joining in possible legal action. However, “We’re just sticking with ourselves, but we’re going to take all the information that people that call in or inquire about what we’re doing.”

According to a Sept. 18 claim for damages filed with the city, Amari asked for $6 million, or $300,000 per month for as long as the city’s health order lasts. A claim is usually considered the first step in the filing of a lawsuit. The City Council has 45 days after a claim is received to deny it before a person can sue.

The claim lists the “city of Pasadena, through Mayor and Public Health Officer” as the city employees causing the damage to his business on West Green Street. At around 6 p.m. Wednesday, at least 20 people were dining or drinking or both on the sidewalk outside the restaurant.

City Manager Steve Mermell instituted the local safer at home order on March 22, according to an attachment filed with the claim.

The state’s health and safety law allows local health officers to take any preventive measures that may be necessary to protect and preserve the public health from an emergency declared by the governor after a local health emergency has been declared.

Although Pasadena has its own health director, typically the city follows the county, which follows the state in major emergencies, such as the onset of a deadly pandemic. 

Pasadena, Long Beach, Berkeley, and Vernon are the only cities in the state with their own health departments.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide mandate forced millions of Californians, including Pasadenans, to stay at home and follow social distancing rules, and closed all non-essential businesses.

Although restaurants were not closed, they were limited to doing take-out and pickup business only. They have since been allowed to set up tables on sidewalks to serve food outdoors.

“We don’t believe that the emergency orders should last this long,” Amari said. “And, furthermore, if it does, if it’s saving lives or helping anybody, we’re all for it. But to shut us down without compensating us for this amount of time, it doesn’t seem lawful to us.”