Miami-Dade County v. Miami Gardens Square One, Inc.

In March 2020, the governor of Florida declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, Miami-Dade County (Miami-Dade) (plaintiff) issued an ordinance imposing a late-night curfew and shutting down all nonessential businesses. In September 2020, Florida’s governor issued an executive order stating, in relevant part, that no county or local government could enact emergency procedures that “prevented an individual from working or operating a business.” The preamble to the executive order stated that it was enacted because “Floridians should not be prohibited by local governments from working or operating a business.” In response, Miami-Dade issued a new ordinance allowing nonessential businesses to reopen; however, it left the late-night curfew in place. Miami Gardens Square One, Inc. d/b/a Tootsie’s Cabaret (Tootsie’s) (defendant) sought a temporary injunction against Miami-Dade’s curfew, arguing that (1) the curfew was expressly preempted by the executive order because it prevented Tootsie’s from operating its business; and (2) the executive order was an implied preemption of all local COVID-19 emergency measures. Miami-Dade countered, arguing the curfew was not preempted because it did not prevent Tootsie’s from operating its business. The trial court granted Tootsie’s a temporary injunction, and Miami-Dade appealed.