LEGACY CHURCH INC v. USA (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.2021-07-16No. No. 20-2117

Summary · law.co

Holding. The appellate court affirmed the district court's denial of the preliminary injunction and dismissal because Legacy Church failed to appeal the dismissal itself, making any discussion of the preliminary injunction moot.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, New Mexico's Department of Health issued orders restricting mass gatherings, including at places of worship. Legacy Church filed suit against the state and the Secretary, seeking to enjoin enforcement of these occupancy limits on religious grounds under the Free Exercise and Assembly Clauses. The district court rejected the request for a preliminary injunction and dismissed the underlying complaint, refusing to allow amendment.

On appeal, Legacy Church argued only that the preliminary injunction should have been granted, focusing on Free Exercise concerns regarding a June 2020 health order. The church did not challenge the dismissal of the case itself, either in its written briefs or during oral argument. Because the preliminary injunction serves only to maintain the status quo pending trial, and because the underlying action was dismissed with no appeal of that dismissal, the court found any review of the injunction decision would be academic.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

Whether public health orders restricting worship gatherings violate the Free Exercise Clause
Whether a preliminary injunction can survive dismissal of the underlying action
Whether arguments not raised in an appellant's opening brief are forfeited

Procedural posture

Legacy Church appealed the district court's July 2020 order denying a preliminary injunction and dismissing the complaint, but limited its appellate arguments to the preliminary injunction denial alone.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion · public domain

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health issued public health orders aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID by restricting mass gatherings as defined by those orders. These restrictions applied broadly, including, as of April 11, 2020, to houses of worship.

In response, Plaintiff-Appellant Legacy Church sued the State of New Mexico

and the Secretary, challenging the occupancy limitations as violating Legacy Churchs constitutional rights under the Free Exercise and Freedom of Assembly Clauses.

After filing suit, Legacy Church requested a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Secretary from enforcing mass-gathering restrictions on places of worship. The Secretary responded and moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The district court denied Legacy Churchs request for a preliminary injunction and granted the Secretarys motion to dismiss the case. It also declined to grant Legacy Church leave to amend its complaint on the grounds that amendment would be futile.

Legacy Churchs Notice of Appeal refers to the July 13, 2020, district court order which both denied a preliminary injunction and dismissed the action. Although that order was very lengthy, addressing a number of different arguments, in its briefing and in oral argument, Legacy Church challenged only the district courts decision to deny its motion for a preliminary injunction, focusing almost entirely on the June 30, 2020, public health order under the Free Exercise Clause. Though Legacy Church briefly acknowledges the district courts dismissal of the action in its opening briefs jurisdictional statement, it is never mentioned again. Legacy Church does not argue that the dismissal was erroneous. Arguments not included in the opening brief are waived. U.S. v. Fisher, 805 F.3d 982, 991 (10th Cir. 2015) (“We cannot rule on those issues the appellant does not bring to our attention.”). Further, Legacy Church admitted in oral argument that it does not appeal the district courts dismissal of the case. Oral Argument at 11:54–58.

Regardless of the merits of Legacy Churchs arguments, a preliminary injunction must terminate when the action is terminated. Univ. of Tex. v. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 395, 101 S.Ct. 1830, 68 L.Ed.2d 175 (1981) (“The purpose of a preliminary injunction is merely to preserve the relative positions of the parties until a trial on the merits can be held.”). As any arguments challenging the dismissal of the action have been waived, a discussion of the denial of a preliminary injunction would be purely academic. We therefore decline to address the merits of Legacy Churchs appeal in light of the dismissal and AFFIRM.

FOOTNOTES

. As of April 28, 2021, there are no longer any mandatory capacity restrictions on houses of worship in New Mexico.

. The district court previously dismissed New Mexico as a party under the Eleventh Amendment and that dismissal is not challenged in this appeal.

David M. Ebel, Circuit Judge