close

Angelo’s facing lawsuit in indoor dining case

2 min read
article image -

Angelo’s Family Restaurant is being sued by the state Department of Health for violating the recent three-week ban on indoor dining.

The dining destination in North Franklin Township is one of 28 businesses statewide that are named in the litigation.

The state Attorney General’s office filed the lawsuit in Commonwealth Court on Jan. 5, one day after Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 mitigation order was removed. The suit seeks damages, including punitive damages for “willful and wanton” violation of the COVID-19 mitigation edict, according to a report in LNP LancasterOnline, a daily newspaper in Lancaster.

That suit, according to LNP, also has a provision seeking damages and restitution for “unjust enrichment” by the businesses. This is the second lawsuit the health department has filed related to indoor dining violations.

Angelo’s is the only Western Pennsylvania business named in the case. All of the restaurants and businesses resumed indoor dining after the edict was lifted, including those that have been sued or previously got closure notices.

Angelo’s owner Michael Passalacqua confirmed that he received notification of the lawsuit about the time it was filed. He has been outspoken in his opposition to two shutdowns Wolf has imposed on restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic, and readily admits he kept his location open during the recent shutdown.

“I feel it’s frivolous and not going to go anywhere,” he said of the litigation. “Basically, we’re being sued for endangering public health. I don’t know how they can prove that. There is no particular law they can enforce.”

Passalacqua said his business did very well during the time it was supposed to be shut down. “We couldn’t keep up with it. The support we got from so far away and by so many people was so overwhelming, we couldn’t imagine it. We had a guy drive 120 miles for a takeout meal.”

He said he closed Angelo’s from Jan. 1 to 4 “to give my staff a Christmas holiday,” and reopened the day the lawsuit was filed.

As for the court action, Passalacqua is not overly concerned.

“I’m almost positive this will die on the vine,” he said. “We will graciously take our day in court.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today