Ashland judge blocks enforcement of face mask order

COLUMBUS — An Ashland County judge has ruled the Ohio Department of Health lacks the authority to enforce mandatory face mask and social distancing orders affecting businesses since the start of the coronavirus pandemic more than a year ago. Common Pleas Judge Ronald P. Forsthoefel earlier this week made permanent a temporary restraining order he issued last year against the county health department's enforcement of a cease-and-desist order issued against the Cattleman's Restaurant in Savannah. "(T)he Ohio Department of Health only has ultimate authority in matters of quarantine and isolation," Judge Forsthoefel wrote, agreeing with a prior decision out of Erie County that found similar orders affecting Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Sandusky to be an overreach. Ashland County had revoked Cattleman's food service license for violations of the Dine Safe Order issued by Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio's former health director, on June 5 and a subsequent mandatory masking order issued by her interim replacement, Lance Himes, on July 23. Judge Forsthoefel had issued a temporary restraining order preventing enforcement, and the restaurant's license had been restored pending the final outcome of the case. The judge has now issued a permanent injunction, following similar decisions out of Erie County affecting Kalahari and Lake County affecting gyms and fitness centers. This case, as were the other two, was brought through the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law. "The decision provides a roadmap for elected officials to protect their citizens from the state's arbitrary and continuous administrative overreach, since virtually all enforcement of these orders is undertaken locally," the center's executive director, Maurice Thompson, said. The orders specifically affecting resorts, amusement parks, water parks, gyms, and fitness centers have since largely been lifted. But parts of other orders mandating the wearing of face masks and practicing social distancing remain in place, most recently consolidated this week into a single new order by Gov. Mike DeWine. The Erie and Lake county decisions have not progressed to appellate courts. Judge Forsthoefel wrote that state law only spells out the authority "to revoke a license without hearing upon the finding of an immediate danger to public health. This court finds and determines that 'an immediate danger to public health' was never factually established nor scientifically demonstrated in this case, nor in support of the actions of the Ashland County Health Department." The judge, however, determined he did not have the authority to award damages to the restaurant's owners or the jurisdiction to strike down the state's orders. But Cattleman's should not be subject to further enforcement action by the county, he said. "As the position of this court has been made known, any further attempt to enforce Ohio Department of Health Orders related to COVID-19 mask restrictions will likely result in further restraint of any such attempt," he wrote. ___ (c)2021 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) Visit The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) at www.toledoblade.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.