Crack’d Egg legal fight over COVID-19 shutdown has ACHD director testifying in court

PITTSBURGH — The Crack’d Egg’s legal fight over defying the state’s COVID-19 shutdown orders has sparked interest among small business owners upset over the closures and restrictions. It also has the director of the Allegheny County Health Department testifying in court.

“This applies to any business in the commonwealth, especially the restaurants. And this is a test to see whether or not these people have this authority and I don’t believe they do,” said attorney Sy Lampl, who represents the restaurant.

There were hours of testimony in the county’s case against the restaurant Thursday. According to our partners at TribLive.com, Dr. Debra Bogen testified she has the authority to issue public health orders. She said ACHD received many reports of COVID-19 cases from people going to bars and restaurants. However, Bogen said they can’t identify exactly where a person is infected and the agency bases decisions off of case investigations.

“I think the outcome of this case is a clear indication from the court on how they view these orders and the authority on them,” Lampl said.

The county is taking legal action against the Brentwood restaurant for openly defying the shutdown orders for months. The owners declared bankruptcy in October, weeks after filing a lawsuit against the county. Health department inspectors testified the establishment repeatedly failed to enforce masks and social distancing.

“We want those people to explain why they have this authority,” Lampl said.

Crack’d Egg owner Kimberly Waigand wrapped up the day’s testimony, saying she refused to comply with the orders because she didn’t want to lose her business.

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