Best Supplement Guide, LLC v. Newsom

District Court, E.D. California·Decided May 22, 2020·No. 2:20-cv-00965·Unknown

Opinion

BEST SUPPLEMENT GUIDE, LLC; No. 2:20-cv-00965-JAM-CKD SEAN COVELL, an individual, Plaintiffs, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ EX v. PARTE APPLICATION AND MOTION FOR EMERGENCY TEMPORARY RESTRAINING GAVIN NEWSOM, et al., ORDER AND FOR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION Defendants. SHOULD NOT ISSUE.

Best Supplement Guide LLC is a California limited liability corporation that conducts business under the trade name “Fitness System.” Compl. ¶ 17, ECF No. 1. Fitness System operates three membership-based gyms, including one in Lodi, California. Compl. ¶ 50. Sean Covell organized and registered Fitness System within the State of California. Compl. ¶ 20. He is the director, manager, and president of the corporation. Id. In March 2020, Governor Newsom and San Joaquin County enacted “stay at home” orders to help counteract the rapid spread of COVID-19. Compl. ¶¶ 68-74. The State and County Orders required Plaintiffs to close Fitness System’s Lodi facility against their wishes. Compl. ¶ 95. The gym remains closed. In response, Plaintiffs brought this civil rights action against various state and local officials, challenging the validity and enforcement of both stay at home orders. Shortly thereafter, Plaintiffs filed an ex parte application to temporarily enjoin enforcement of the State and County Orders.1 Mot. for TRO (“TRO”), ECF No. 3. The State and Local Defendants oppose the motion. See State Defs.’ Opp’n to Plfs.’ Ex parte App. (“State Opp’n”), ECF No. 9; County and City Defs.’ Opp’n to Plfs.’ Ex parte App. (“Local Opp’n”), ECF No. 10. For the reasons discussed below, the Court denies Plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order and for an order to show cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue. In December 2019, a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 began spreading across the globe. Compl. ¶ 61. The virus quickly traveled from one country to the next, and by late January 2020, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency. Compl. ¶¶ 61-62. COVID-19 eventually reached California and began infecting people within its communities. Compl. ¶¶ 63-65. In an effort to prevent widespread infection, Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency and issued Executive Order N-33-20. Compl. ¶¶ 63, 68. The order directed California residents to “stay home or at their

1 The Court determined Plaintiffs’ ex parte application was suitable for decision without oral argument. E.D. Cal. L.R. 230(g). place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure services.” Compl. ¶ 69; see also Ex. G to TRO, ECF No. 3-1. Governor Newsom reserved authority to “designate additional sectors as critical [to] protect the health and well-being of all Californians.” Ex. G to TRO. On March 20, San Joaquin County followed suit. Compl. ¶ 74. It issued a stay at home order directing “all individuals living in the County to stay . . . at their place of residence except . . . to provide or receive certain essential services or engage in certain activities.” Ex. J to TRO, ECF No. 3-1. The County Order’s intent was to help implement the State stay at home order and slow the spread of COVID-19. Id. As COVID-19 continued to spread, Governor Newsom and County officials issued amendments containing increasingly stringent restrictions. Compl. ¶¶ 76-85. Specifically, an April 14 amendment to the County’s stay at home order required all gyms to close. Compl. ¶ 85. In the April 14 amendment, the County again maintained it was implementing the State Order. Compl. ¶ 80. In late April, Plaintiffs announced they would reopen Fitness System’s Lodi facility notwithstanding the County Order. Compl. ¶ 100. San Joaquin County and the City of Lodi learned of Plaintiffs’ plans to reopen. Compl. ¶¶ 102-103. On April 30, three Lodi Police Officers arrived at the Lodi gym with a letter from County Counsel. Compl. ¶¶ 103-104, 111. The officers informed Covell that reopening the gym would result in civil, administrative, and criminal penalties. Compl. ¶¶ 106-110. /// A. Judicial Notice District courts may take judicial notice of “a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it: (1) is generally known within the trial court’s territorial jurisdiction; or (2) can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.” Fed. R. Evid. 201(b). Consequently, a court may take judicial notice “of court filings and other matters of public record,” Reyn’s Pasta Bella, LLC v. Visa USA, Inc., 442 F.3d 741, 746 n.6 (9th Cir. 2006), including “government documents available from reliable sources on the internet,” California River Watch v. City of Vacaville, No. 2:17-cv-00524-KJM-KJN, 2017 WL 3840265, at *2 n.1 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 1, 2017). Plaintiffs and the Local Defendants request the Court take judicial notice of various documents issued by the federal government, the State of California, San Joaquin County, and the City of Lodi. See TRO at 11-13; Local Defs.’ RJN, ECF No. 11. Moreover, the State Defendants request the Court judicially notice “a series of order[s] and directives of the Governor and Public Health Officer” that make up the State’s stay at home order. State Defs.’ RJN, ECF No 9-3. Finding these government documents to be proper subjects of judicial notice, the Court grants the parties’ requests. B. Legal Standard Parties seeking a temporary restraining order must establish (1) they are likely to succeed on the merits; (2) they are likely to suffer irreparable harm absent preliminary relief; (3) the balance of equities tips in their favor, and (4) an injunction is in the public interest. Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008); see also Stuhlbarg Intern Sales Co., Inc. v. John D. Brush and Co., Inc., 240 F.3d 832, 839 n.7 (9th Cir. 2001). In the Ninth Circuit, courts may also issue temporary restraining orders when there are “serious questions going to the merits” and a “balance of hardships that tips sharply towards the plaintiff” so long as the remaining two Winter factors are present. Alliance for Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1135 (9th Cir. 2011). When applying either test, courts operate with the understanding that a temporary restraining order, much like a preliminary injunction, is an “extraordinary and drastic remedy.” Cf. Munaf v. Geren, 553 U.S. 674, 690 (2008). “The propriety of a temporary restraining order, in particular, hinges on a significant threat of irreparable injury [] that must be imminent in nature.” Gish, No. EDCV 20-755-JGB(KKx), 2020 WL 1979970, at *3 (April 23, 2020) (citing Simula, Inc. v. Autoliv, Inc., 175 F.3d. 716, 725 (9th Cir. 1999); Caribbean Marine Serv. Co. v. Baldridge, 844 F.2d 668, 674 (9th Cir. 1988)). C. Analysis Arguing they satisfy each of the four Winter factors, Plaintiffs request the Court temporarily enjoin enforcement of the State and County orders so Fitness System may reopen its Lodi facility. TRO at 13-27. But the Court finds Plaintiffs have not shown they are likely to succeed on the merits of any of the claims discussed in their motion. Nor have they raised serious questions going to the merits of these claims. Emergency relief is therefore improper. 1. Likelihood of Success on the Merits / Serious Questions going to the Merits This Court, alongside many others, has adopted the standard set forth in Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11, 31 (1905) to assess the constitutionality of a state or local official’s exercise of emergency police

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