Mocanaqua club appeals citations, fines for defying COVID

MOCANAQUA — A private club in Mocanaqua is asking a Luzerne County judge to intervene in a legal battle with state officials over citations it received for not following mask mandates and other alcohol restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board in May upheld an administrative law judge's ruling that the Mocanaqua Sporting Club be fined $3,000 and have its liquor license suspended for five days for ignoring the orders of then-Gov. Tom Wolf and his Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

An attorney for the club maintains Wolf's orders regarding mask mandates and alcohol restrictions were not constitutional.

Eric Winter, the attorney representing the club, recently filed an appeal of the sanctions, asking a Luzerne County judge to determine whether Wolf's orders were legal, whether the state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement had the authority to issue the citations and whether the citations were valid or enforceable.

"Petitioner respectfully requests that this court reverse the board's decision," Winter wrote in his appeal.

Club leaders on Tuesday declined comment, citing the pending litigation.

The state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement cited the Mocanaqua Sporting Club at 126 Main St. three times in 2020 following Wolf's orders during the pandemic.

The club was cited for not requiring customers to wear face masks, not providing masks to employees or requiring they wear one, allowing patrons to be seated at the bar, selling alcohol to a patron without a meal and allowing patrons to possess alcohol after 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve 2020.

An administrative law judge who heard the case determined the club unlawfully defied the governor's orders, noting that the state Supreme Court in "Friends of Danny DeVito vs. Wolf" determined the governor had the right to issue the mandates and restrictions as part of his powers during a declared health emergency.

"The Bureau acknowledges that COVID-19 presented a novel situation for enforcement. However, it argues that the fact that it had not previously had occasion to enforce gubernatorial emergency orders against licensees does not mean the Bureau lacks authority to do so," the administrative law judge John Pietrzak wrote in his opinion released in December.

Pietrzak issued the maximum fine of $1,000 against the club for each citation, adding a five-day liquor license suspension.

The Mocanaqua Sporting Club appealed the decision to the state Liquor Control Board. The board on May 3 sided with the judge, affirming the decision and dismissing the club's appeal.

In affirming the decision, the board wrote that "the underlying facts are not in dispute" and the club defied the governor's lawful orders.

Both the judge and board noted that Winter had previously made the exact same arguments on a consolidated case he lost involving four bars and 21 citations. Those bars are also appealing.

About the Mocanaqua Sporting Club case, the judge wrote, "Licensee chose to ignore the restrictions because it believes the governor's restrictions were unconstitutional. The proper method to challenge restrictions one feels to be unlawful is to seek the redress of the courts. Licensee had no lawful right to ignore the Governor's executive orders."

Contact the writer:

[email protected]

570-821-2055; @cvbobkal

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Bob Kalinowski is an enterprise reporter at The Citizens’ Voice Read More...

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