Gallagher v. City of Clayton, et al, No. 11-3880 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff sued the City and several city officials in their official capacities under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and 1988, challenging a city ordinance prohibiting outdoor smoking on certain public property. The court held that the right to smoke was not a fundamental right and the district court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's due process claim. The court also held that because plaintiff did not plead facts plausibly indicating that smokers constituted a suspect or quasi-suspect class, the district court did not err in dismissing his equal protection claim. Because the city's health-based justification was sufficient, the court held that plaintiff's claim that the law failed rational basis review was properly dismissed. The court rejected plaintiff's remaining constitutional claims and affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Civil case - Civil Rights. In lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a smoking ban in the city's parks, the district court did not err in dismissing the federal claims as facially implausible; the city's health- based justifications for the law formed a rational basis for the ban.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.