A judge Wednesday gave the owner of a Torrance gym more time to challenge the county’s request for a preliminary injunction that would extend a previous order directing him to refrain from holding indoor operations.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary H. Strobel set a new hearing date of Feb. 18 so that David Fischer, owner of Powerhouse Gym, and his attorney, April Moore, can obtain the input of an expert witness to fight the injunction.
Strobel said the TRO she imposed on Fischer and the gym on Dec. 9 will remain in effect pending the February hearing.
In a tentative ruling issued Tuesday, Strobel said she was inclined to grant the preliminary injunction.
“Plaintiffs (offer) evidence showing that Powerhouse has violated applicable health orders by operating indoor fitness activities throughout the summer despite multiple issuances of written directives to take corrective action…,” the judge wrote.
In her court papers, Moore argues that since a vaccine for COVID-19 has been approved by the FDA and is being distributed, the issuance of a preliminary injunction would constitute a “governmental taking.”
In support of their arguments for enjoining the Powerhouse Gym’s indoor operations, county lawyers offered a declaration from Department of Public Health inspector Arsenio Argel. He said he made his 10th inspection of the Powerhouse Gym on Nov. 24.
“I arrived at Powerhouse at 9:45 a.m. and observed at least two dozen patrons exercising inside the facilities in violation of the health and closure orders,” Argel said of the Hawthorne Boulevard facility.