San Francisco Considers Allowing Residents to Sue Grocers for Shutting Down Without Notice

A proposed law promoted by two San Francisco supervisors would allow residents to sue grocery stores that shut down without giving six months’ notice to the city and helping to find a replacement. The Grocery Protection Act, introduced April 2 by Board Supervisors Dean Preston and Aaron Peskin, comes amid a rash of retail theft critics say is fueled by the city’s drug and homelessness crisis, as well as a state law that reclassified theft of merchandise worth $950 or less as a misdemeanor. If a grocery store shutters without providing six months’ notice, including posting notices at entrances and exits, people affected by the closure would be entitled to sue for damages or seek a mandate to remedy the situation. The proposed ordinance would require stores to “meet and work in good faith with neighborhood residents” and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to find a way to preserve access to groceries at the site....