Glaser Weil Successfully Defends LA County’s SAAFE Ordinance in First-Ever Legal Challenge

Glaser Weil is pleased to announce a victory in the Firm’s defense of the County of Los Angeles in litigation with a liquor store related to the revocation of the establishment’s planning permission to sell alcohol.

The County found that during a two-and-a-half-year period, the business was responsible for more than 100 calls for alleged criminal activity in and around the business.

The County’s Safe Access to Alcohol and Food Establishments (SAAFE) ordinance required that the business take steps to address these crimes and the impact they had on the neighborhood and on the community, and the County encouraged the business to act. The business did not take those steps, was found to be in violation of the SAAFE ordinance and was precluded from selling alcohol until those steps were taken.

The store raised a first-ever challenge to the SAAFE ordinance. The Glaser Weil team was led by litigation Partner Cynthia Organ, supported by Partner Andrew Baum and Associate Olivia Weiss. Organ’s defense was successful and the court found that the County’s actions were lawful and supported by substantial evidence.