Automated Summary
Key Facts
Moore Murphy Hospitality, LLC (Iron Pig Smokehouse) appealed a trial court's summary disposition ruling in a declaratory judgment action challenging the constitutionality of MCL 333.2451 of the Public Health Code. The plaintiff operated a barbeque restaurant in Gaylord, Michigan that was subject to an emergency COVID-19 order in November 2020. The trial court found the case was not moot and ruled on the merits, but this Court reversed, determining the case was moot because the emergency order was rescinded and the COVID-19 emergency has ended, making any relief impossible to grant.
Issues
- Whether the plaintiff's declaratory judgment action challenging MCL 333.2451 was moot given that the underlying emergency COVID-19 order had been rescinded and the public health crisis had ended, making any judgment without practical effect on an existing controversy.
- Whether MCL 333.2451 of the Public Health Code violated separation-of-powers principles, though this issue was vacated as moot.
Holdings
The Court reversed the trial court's determination that the plaintiff's action was not moot, vacated the portion of the trial court's decision ruling on the constitutionality of MCL 333.2451, and remanded for further proceedings. The Court found the case to be moot because the underlying emergency order had been rescinded before the action commenced and the COVID-19 emergency had ended, making the claim for declaratory relief abstract with no practical effect on an existing controversy.
Remedies
The Court reversed the trial court's determination that the plaintiff's action was not moot, vacated the portion of the trial court's decision ruling on the constitutionality of MCL 333.2451, and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. The Court does not retain jurisdiction.
Legal Principles
- Plaintiff challenged MCL 333.2451 of the Public Health Code on the grounds that it violated separation-of-powers principles. The trial court reached the merits of this constitutional challenge, but this Court vacated that portion of the decision because the underlying case was moot.
- The court applied the mootness doctrine, determining that the plaintiff's declaratory judgment action was moot because the underlying emergency order was rescinded before the action commenced and the COVID-19 emergency has ended. The court held that a judgment would have no practical effect on an existing controversy and that the mere possibility that an issue may recur is not sufficient to avoid mootness.
Precedent Name
T & V Assoc v Director of Dep't of Health & Human Servs
Cited Statute
Public Health Code
Judge Name
- Swartzle
- Mariam S. Bazzi
- Colleen A. O'Brien
Passage Text
- We reverse the trial court's determination that the issue was not moot, vacate the portion of the trial court's opinion ruling on the merits of the constitutionality of MCL 333.2451, and remand for further proceedings.
- The Michigan Supreme Court determined that this Court had erred by concluding that the case was not moot, reasoning that 'the instant case presents nothing but abstract questions and does not rest on existing facts or rights,' and therefore that '[a] judgment would have no practical effect on an existing controversy.' Id.
- There is no dispute that the authority under which defendant issued the contested order, MCL 333.2451, was rescinded before plaintiff commenced this action. It follows that it was impossible for the trial court, and now for this Court, to grant plaintiff any relief, because plaintiff presently continues to operate its Iron Pig restaurant unabated.