G & V Lounge Inc. V. Michigan Liquor Control Commission

NATHANIEL R. JONES, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff-Appellant, a corporation that operates the "Mustang Lounge" in Inkster, Michigan, alleges that Defendant-Appellee, the City of Inkster, violated Plaintiff's First Amendment rights when it threatened to seek revocation of Plaintiff's liquor license and entertainment permit if Plaintiff presented topless dancing at the bar. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant-Appellee, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission ("MLCC"), has declared that it will revoke the license and permit at the municipality's request so long as the municipality affords Plaintiff rudimentary due process, and that this policy of deferring to a municipality also violated Plaintiff's First Amendment rights. The district court denied Plaintiff's request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, and dismissed the action for lack of a present case or controversy. We reverse this dismissal, holding that there is a present case or controversy, and we remand the matter for reconsideration of whether a preliminary injunction should issue.