Whistle Stop Inn, Inc. & Louise Liford, d/b/a Thirsty Turtle v. City of Indianapolis, et al.
An Indianapolis smoking ordinance contained an exception allowing smoking in “satellite” facilities for off-track gambling. The court ruled that the exception was unconstitutional because it treated satellite facilities differently from bars and restaurants without a sufficient reason. The court struck down the exception for satellite facilities but allowed the remainder of the ordinance to continue in effect.
Whistle Stop Inn, Inc. & Louise Liford, d/b/a Thirsty Turtle v. City of Indianapolis, et al., Opinion 49A02-1407-MI-519 (2015).
Tobacco companies or front groups may challenge any legislative or regulatory measure that affects their business interests. Unlike public interest litigation, these cases seek to weaken health measures. These cases frequently involve the industry proceeding against the government. For example, a group of restaurant owners challenging a smoke free law as unconstitutional.
A violation of the right to equal protection under the law, or another form of discrimination. The industry may claim that regulations discriminate against tobacco companies or tobacco products. Smokers may claim that addiction is a health condition, so regulations discriminate against them based on their health condition. Facilities subject to smoke free laws may claim that smoke free (SF) exceptions (e.g., hotel rooms, mental hospitals, etc.) unfairly discriminate against SF businesses because the law should apply to all locations equally.
The court might consider procedural matters without touching the merits of the case. These might include: improper joinder, when third parties, such as Health NGOs or government officials, seek to become parties to the suit; lack of standing, where a plaintiff fails to meet the minimum requirements to bring suit; lack of personal jurisdiction, where the court does not have jurisdiction to rule over the defendant; or lack of subject matter jurisdiction, where the court does not have jurisdiction over the issue at suit.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
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"In addition, we note that Indiana Code chapter 4-31-5.5 does not explicitly mention any kind of “tobacco management plan.” Rather, the only mention relating to tobacco or smoke is contained in Indiana Code Section 4-31-5.5-4, which requires that a facility seeking a license provide “[a] description of the heating and air conditioning units, smoke removal equipment, and other climate control devices at the proposed satellite facility.” This requirement clearly does not amount to a requirement that a satellite facility provide a tobacco management plan. There is no indication that satellite facilities are even required to have smoke removal equipment, only to provide a description of the equipment they do have. This one statement about smoking in an entire chapter of the Indiana Code is far too attenuated to amount to an inherent distinction between satellite facilities and bars and restaurants. Therefore, we find that the exception for satellite facilities violates the Equal Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Indiana Constitution because the disparate treatment is not reasonably related to the inherent differences between the divergently treated classes."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
An Indianapolis smoking ordinance contained an exception allowing smoking in “satellite” facilities for off-track gambling. The court ruled that the exception was unconstitutional because it treated satellite facilities differently from bars and restaurants without a sufficient reason. The court struck down the exception for satellite facilities but allowed the remainder of the ordinance to continue in effect.