Nearly four years after she set off a firestorm of controversy by defying COVID-19 rules at the height of the pandemic, a former restaurant owner is locked in a new legal battle with the city of Long Beach.
The conflict ignited earlier this year when the city attorney sued Dana Tanner, who owned the now-infamous Fourth Street bistro Restauration. Long Beach was trying to recoup about $40,000 in municipal business loans they say she never repaid after shuttering her restaurant and leaving town.
In response to the collections lawsuit, Tanner has sued back. In a 27-page complaint she authored herself, she accuses the city of zealously destroying her business with escalating enforcement of COVID orders.
When she refused to comply and encourage others to join her cause , she alleges the city targeted her with a “public vilification campaign” that left her with a “destroyed community standing, devastated family and emotional trauma.”
