Los Angeles County health officials acted arbitrarily and without a proper risk-benefit analysis when they banned outdoor dining as a coronavirus-control measure, a judge tentatively ruled Tuesday.

Even if the decision is finalized, it won’t immediately restore in- person dining in California’s most populous county, where it was banned in late November.

In a 53-page tentative ruling, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant said the county “failed to perform the required risk-benefit analysis” before enacting the ban.

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