CHAMPAIGN — A local barbecue restaurant’s $3.5 million lawsuit against the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and its employees has been dismissed, but the case is likely to come before the court again soon.
Champaign County Associate Judge Ronda Holliman granted the health district’s motion to dismiss Sooie Bros. Bar-B-Que Joint’s complaint during a hearing Wednesday morning.
However, she did so without prejudice and gave co-owner Alven Allison 14 days to file an amended complaint. He plans to do so, and the currently closed business wrote on its social media that the matter “is far from over.”
Defendants in the case include the health district, Environmental Health Director Sarah Michaels, Environmental Health Specialist Rami Wilson, Food Program Coordinator Penny Murphy and Administrator Julie Pryde.
Allison originally filed the lawsuit against the health district and Michaels for $40,000 on Feb. 28, the day after his business received a red placard and an order to close.
He later updated the complaint to include additional defendants and amended the amount of damages, alleging that the health district and its employees “have caused irreparable harm, mental anguish and devastating financial damage to me personally and my business.”
The suit is one of two legal disputes between the restaurant and the health district.
The other concluded in late April, with Champaign County Judge Jason Bohm ruling that a previously-granted injunction to keep the eatery closed will remain in place until Allison either “comes into compliance with the existing food-service plan dated February 2, 2023,” or submits an amended plan that is approved by the health district.
The health district originally ordered Sooie Bros. to close in late February, citing a lack of refrigeration due to its walk-in cooler not being in operation.
Allison and co-owner Isis Griffin have argued that the order is unfair and that their commercial reach-in refrigerator exceeds the necessary requirements for reducing temperatures.
“Mr. Allison has repeatedly pointed out that none of these (referenced) FDA regulations require a walk-in cooler,” Bohm wrote in his final order. “While that is true, it misses the point. He was required by his food service plan to use the walk-in cooler and to receive approval before changing the utilized equipment.”
Sooie Bros. initially refused to close but eventually shut its doors March 12 after Bohm granted the health district’s request for an injunction.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Holliman told Allison, “There are several things on your complaint that are not clear.”
For instance, she requested clarity on the amount of damages sought, noting that Allison wrote in one section that the damages exceed $50,000 and later stated that the defendants owed him $3.5 million. The amount sought will determine whether the matter stays in small claims court, Holliman said.
She also agreed with the defendants’ argument that the complaint “makes a wide range of allegations against each of the defendants that are vague.” She said that the accusations should be stated concisely and separated into individual paragraphs.
Allison said during Wednesday’s hearing that he had already planned to ask for the opportunity to submit a revised complaint.
Additionally, he told the judge that while the motion to dismiss states that he “appears to seek punitive damages,” this is inaccurate. He claimed that the amount sought is backed up by the financial damage he has suffered, including losses due to being closed.
