Farmer's Seafood Co. v. State ex rel. Dep't of Pub. Safety

Summary

The Louisiana Supreme Court held that a district court improperly declared portions of a statute and administrative regulation unconstitutional during a preliminary-injunction proceeding. The court vacated that portion of the judgment without reaching the constitutional merits and transferred the case to the Court of Appeal for expedited review of the preliminary-injunction ruling.

Holdings

1. A hearing on a preliminary injunction is limited to determining whether the movant will suffer irreparable injury, is entitled to the requested relief as a matter of law, and is likely to prevail on the merits; the court may not effectively grant declaratory relief on the ultimate constitutionality issue absent an agreement to try the merits.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court could decide the constitutionality of the challenged statute and regulation and grant declaratory relief during a hearing on a petition for preliminary injunctive relief.
2. Whether the district court's judgment declaring portions of the statute and regulation unconstitutional should be vacated when the merits of constitutionality were not properly before the court at the injunction hearing.

Disposition

vacated