(How Does A Small Business Survive When Government Shuts You Down.)
Introduction:
The United States, especially California, is in the clutches of a pandemic
caused by COVID-19, a virus. Governor Gavin Newsom has prohibited a million
jobs in California causing loss of business revenues, jobs, and lost futures.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy,
California had 4.1 million small businesses that retained 7.2 million small
business employees comprising 48.5% of California employees. 1,087,904
Californians worked in the food industry or 15% of Californian’s small business
employees worked in food service. In addition, 477,773 Californians worked in
“other” small businesses including salons, gyms and other personal service
business. ( California Small Business Economic Profile (sba.gov) ;
https://cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/04142955/2020-
Small-Business-Economic-Profile-CA.pdf )
On March 16, 2020, Governor Newsom ordered the closure of all
restaurant dining rooms. In the April 26, 2020 survey, the food services revenues
were down 84%. Thus, 1,565,677 Californians or 21.6% of all small business
employees in California, have been affected by the shutdown of small business.
The Problem:
Today, many business owners cannot make economic use of their
property and some have permanently closed their business because Governor
Newsom’s use of sweeping police powers in controlling COVID-19. The law is
clear that the governor has extraordinary powers in combating infectious
disease. He can take private property to protect the public, which is what he has
done.
2
The law is equally clear that when the governor takes private property
for the public good, then he must pay the owner for the reasonable value of the
property taken. He has NOT done this.
When the government takes of private property for the public good, the
law says that the individual should not bear the full financial burden for the
public by himself or herself. Rather, the public should compensate the individual
because, after all, it is for the public’s good.
Fighting COVID-19 is for the public benefit. The Governor used his power
to commandeer and exert control over private property for the public benefit.
The owners of the property are suffering for the public good by themselves. The
Governor has not complied with the law to reimburse for private property taken.
If the Governor was honest and fair, he would have told the public,
especially the small business owner, the law allows them to make claims against
the State for the use of their property. Unfortunately, he has omitted that
important fact and left the most vulnerable businesses to bear all financial
burdens alone. The governor left the “little guy” to suffer while he has let the
mega-billionaires stay in business getting richer and richer.
A restaurant owner who you can no longer have dine-in business for the
public good should be reimbursed the dine-in revenues lost to the shutdown.
A salon owner that was shut down for the public good and business lost,
is entitled not only to the lost revenues but recovery of all investments that went
into creating and growing the business.
3
A gym owner who complied with social distancing but suffered lost
revenues, is entitled to recover those revenues lost to the public good of social
distancing.
An apartment owner who has been ordered not to evict tenants for failure
to pay rent is entitled to recover the revenues forgone for the public good.
The Current Legal Action to Save American Business and Jobs:
Nowhere has the case for reimbursement for lost revenues taken by
government been laid out as clearly as when Civil Rights attorney James Otto
demonstrated that the law mandates reimbursement for the taking of private
property. For more than 150 years, California courts have ordered the
government to reimburse the value of property taken for the public good. Today,
California government has installed surreptitious conduct to illegally commandeer
and control the entire California workforce. The result is a betrayed of the
American dream of "fairness to all."
Written into America's genetic code is the proposition that government
will always protect American’s business and jobs in order to bring the American
dream to all. By betraying the American dream, Governor Newsom is gambling
with a direct assault on America's values, future of the family and the individual’s
economic future by refusing to protect small business employees who comprise
48.5% of California employees.
If you are a small business owner who wants the Governor to follow the
law and to compensate small business for taking your revenues, then you must
4
make a claim. If the City or County ordered a private property shut down, then
the same law applies to them. Small business owners have the legal right to
seek compensation from any governmental entity that took private property for
the private good.
In order to obtain that relief, you must file a claim with the State.
About James Otto
James A. Otto, a former Marine Corps officer who served as an Officer in the
United States Marine Corp. from 1976 to 1980. Mr. Otto has been an attorney for
the last 33 years litigation for the American worker whose property was
wrongfully taken. He worked for the California Department of Fair Employment
and Housing prosecuting violators of California's civil rights laws and litigating
governmental claims. From 2002 until 2021, the Law Office of James A. Otto, has
litigated on behalf of individuals to obtain return of their property. Presently, he
asserted legal theories to protect American workers and green card holders from
national origin discrimination. Today, he is implementing newly developed legal
arguments based on current law to obtain reimbursement of private property
taken by the government due to COVID-19. Details: email jaotto@msn.com ;
http://lawofficeofjamesaotto.com/home/