The Big Board sues DC Health for COVID-19 related closure: lawsuit

The Big Board, a bar and burger restaurant on H Street in the District is suing the D.C. Department of Health after their liquor license was suspended earlier this year and they were ordered to close for refusing to follow the city’s COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandate, a lawsuit says.

The restaurant was forced to close in February. Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, and attorney representing the restaurant’s owner Eric Flannery, says the city violated the Home Rule Act by forcing the closure.

"The District of Columbia is unique among American cities. Not only is it our nation’s capital, but its laws are subject to congressional review under the Home Rule Act," Alt said in a statement. "By stacking emergency acts and orders for two years, the District evaded congressional review and closed the courthouse doors to Mr. Flannery and thousands of other D.C. residents. This end run around the Home Rule Act made a mockery of congressional review and simultaneously denied Americans their constitutional rights and due process."

The lawsuit is asking for damages and a judgment saying D.C. Health violated the District’s Home Rule Act.