AG Ellison settles lawsuit with hookah lounge after it violated Walz's executive orders
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office has settled a lawsuit with a Little Canada hookah lounge that violated Gov. Tim Walz's executive orders, a news release says.
Ellison's office sued The Hookah Hideout and its owner David Nelson for violating Executive Order 20-99 (the four-week dial back) and Executive Order 20-103 (the loosening of the four-week dial back), saying during the four-week dial back it allowed indoor, onsite consumption.
The AG's office filed a lawsuit against the Hookah Hideout on Jan. 7 for openly violating the executive orders.
As part of the settlement in Ramsey County District Court, the Hideout will pay a $4,000 fine and comply with current and future executive orders that apply to tobacco shops and/or hookah lounges.
If the Hideout violates any terms of the settlement, it would have to pay a civil penalty of $15,000.
“It’s every Minnesotan’s responsibility to stop the spread of COVID-19. I thank this business for agreeing to meet its responsibility and rejoin the vast majority of Minnesota businesses that are already doing so,” Ellison said in a statement. “The situation is improving but we’re not out of the woods yet, so we must all keep following the COVID guidance and restrictions. My top priority has always been educating Minnesotans about their responsibility and winning voluntary compliance. Enforcement has been and will continue to be a last resort.”
The AG's office has settled five of its lawsuits related to businesses violating the governor's pandemic-related executive orders from late last year.
The money from these lawsuits goes into the state's General Fund.
