The en banc 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted relief in a case involving a Florida law that prohibits restaurants from showing "adult live performances" to minors, effectively barring Hamburger Mary’s from continuing such shows for underage audiences.

The case, Griffin v. HM Florida-ORL, had been on the "interim" docket for three years. Justice Kavanaugh has described the Supreme Court's emergency rulings as "interim docket" decisions that set temporary rules while issues are further examined in lower courts.

Originally, a federal district court judge issued a universal injunction against the Florida law, applying not only to the plaintiff, Hamburger Mary’s, but also to non-parties. In October 2023, Florida petitioned the Supreme Court to limit the injunction solely to Hamburger Mary’s.

Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch supported granting this relief, but they were in the minority. Justice Kavanaugh, joined almost entirely by Justice Barrett, concurred in denying the stay. Kavanaugh wrote that the case was an "imperfect vehicle for considering the general question of whether a district court may enjoin a government from enforcing a law against non-parties to the litigation," noting this issue was "distinct" from the set aside function under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) Section 706.

Kavanaugh also stated that the Supreme Court was unlikely to grant certiorari on the issue presented in Florida’s stay application, though the issue remained unresolved.

The Supreme Court has previously held that so-called "universal injunctions" fall outside the bounds of a federal court's equitable authority under the Judiciary Act, and the 11th Circuit found no exception applicable in this case. Furthermore, the court ruled that Hamburger Mary’s was not entitled to even a more limited preliminary injunction because its claims lacked a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.

As a result, Hamburger Mary’s will no longer be permitted to show adult live performances to minors under the Florida law.

Sources