Big John’s Billiards, Inc. v. State

In 2008, the Nebraska Legislature amended the Nebraska Clean Indoor Act to prohibit smoking in public places and places of employment. Four indoor facilities were exempted from that prohibition. Plaintiff, a corporation that operates a billiards hall, filed an action seeking a declaratory judgment that the Act was unconstitutional. Specifically, Plaintiff claimed that three exemptions from the Act violated the prohibition against special legislation. The district court concluded that the exemptions for guest rooms, tobacco retail outlets, and cigar bars were unconstitutional special legislation. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the exemptions for tobacco retail outlets and cigar bars are unconstitutional special legislation which are severable from the Act; (2) the exemption for guest rooms is not special legislation; and (3) the Act is not an unconstitutional impairment of contract or an unconstitutional regulatory taking. View "Big John's Billiards, Inc. v. State" on Justia Law