Court Upholds Nearly $1 Million Fine Against Restaurant That Defied COVID-19 Pandemic Order

The restaurant owners in Washington state said they resumed indoor dining because, otherwise, they would have had to shut down.

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee speaks to reporters in Seattle on March 16, 2020. Elaine Thompson/Pool/Getty Images

A Washington state restaurant that resumed indoor dining in violation of a 2020 state COVID-19 pandemic order must pay a fine of more than $900,000, an appeals court has ruled.

State officials fined the owners of Stuffy’s II Restaurant $936,000 in total—$18,000 for each day its dining room was open while the state’s emergency order banning indoor dining was in place.