Nevada Restaurant Services, Inc. v. Clark County

Filing 27

ORDER Denying 6 Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Signed by Chief Judge Gloria M. Navarro on 4/20/16. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - PS)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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NEVADA RESTAURANT SERVICE,
INC., d/b/a DOTTY’S,

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Plaintiff,
vs.
CLARK COUNTY, a Municipal
Corporation, and Does I through X,
Defendants.

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Case No.: 2:16-cv-00238-GMN-NJK
ORDER

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Nevada Restaurant Service, Inc.’s

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(“Plaintiff”) Motion for Preliminary Injunction (ECF No. 6). Defendant Clark County

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filed a Response (ECF No. 11), and Plaintiff filed a Reply (ECF No. 18). Moreover,

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Plaintiff filed a Supplement to its instant motion (ECF No. 23).

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I. BACKGROUND

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On December 3, 2014, Clark County passed a law requiring, inter alia, that

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taverns such as those owned by Plaintiff maintain bars with a minimum height of forty

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(40) inches in order to operate Class A slot machine licenses. (Mot. Prelim. Inj. 2:25–28,

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ECF No. 6). However, the law provided that a number of taverns had licenses that would

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be “grandfathered.” (Id. 2:28–3:1). On April 29, 2015, Plaintiff was informed by Clark

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County that 26 of its taverns were grandfathered and eight of its taverns needed to be

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retrofitted to achieve grandfathered status. (Id. 3:15–21). On October 28, 2015, Plaintiff

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was informed by Clark County that only five of its taverns would be grandfathered and

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19 of its taverns needed to be retrofitted to achieve grandfathered status. (Id. 3:27–4:7).

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Plaintiff argues that Clark County’s “unorthodox, retroactive attempt at legislation

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unconstitutionally deprives Dotty’s of due process and requires both a writ of mandamus

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and judicial review under Nevada law.” (Id. 4:17–19). Accordingly, Plaintiff further

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argues that a preliminary injunction is warranted because “there is no dispute as to the

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factual merits of Dotty’s claims and the balance of equities tips in Dotty’s favor.” (Id.

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4:19–20). In response, Clark County argues that it “has simply taken tenable legislative

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action in gaming, an area where it enjoys wide ranging deference.” (Resp. 4:5–7, ECF

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No. 11).

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II. LEGAL STANDARD
Preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders are governed by Rule 65

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of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides that a “court may issue a

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preliminary injunction only on notice to the adverse party.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(a)(1).

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“A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that he is likely to

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succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of

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preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in

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the public interest.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008).

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Injunctive relief is “an extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear

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showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief.” Id. at 22. “[C]ourts must balance the

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competing claims of injury and must consider the effect on each party of the granting or

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withholding of the requested relief.” Id. at 24 (internal quotation marks omitted).

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Irreparable harm cannot be “economic injury alone . . . because such injury can be

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remedied by a damage award.” Rent-A-Center, Inc. v. Canyon Tele. & Appliance Rental,

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Inc., 944 F.2d 597, 603 (9th Cir. 1991). However, the Ninth Circuit has recognized

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“intangible injuries” as well. Id. (indicating “advertising efforts and goodwill” as such

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injuries in a case regarding a non-compete clause of a contract); see also Regents of Univ.

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of Cal. V. Am. Broad. Cos., 747 F.2d 511, 519–20 (9th Cir. 1984) (noting in an antitrust

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case that “ongoing recruitment efforts and goodwill” qualify as irreparable harm).

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III. DISCUSSION

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For its showing of irreparable harm, Plaintiff alleges that it will be seriously

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damaged and its taverns may even have to close. (Mot. Prelim. Inj. 22:20–21, ECF No.

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6). Plaintiff further alleges that this result could harm its “business goodwill and other

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relationships.” (Id. at 22:24–26). In its Supplement, Plaintiff explains that, starting in the

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first week of May 2016, it must retrofit five of its taverns in order to comply with Clark

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County’s schedule. (Supp. 1:23–27, ECF No. 23).

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Having considered the parties’ briefs, declarations, and accompanying exhibits,

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the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to sufficiently establish its claim of irreparable

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harm. Unlike the “intangible injuries” acknowledged by the Ninth Circuit, Plaintiff’s

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alleged irreparable harms are too vague and speculative in nature, and Plaintiff has failed

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to show that such potential injury cannot be adequately remedied by monetary damages.

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See Caribbean Marine Servs. Co. v. Baldrige, 844 F.2d 668, 675 (9th Cir. 1988) (finding

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that, where multiple contingencies must occur before an injury would become a concrete

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harm, the injury was “too speculative to constitute an irreparable harm justifying

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injunctive relief.”). For this reason, the Court denies the Preliminary Injunction.

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IV. CONCLUSION

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction

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(ECF No. 6) is DENIED.
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DATED this _____ day of April, 2016.

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_________________________
Gloria M. Navarro, Chief Judge
United States District Court

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