UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

KEY WEST DIVISION

CASE NO.: 4:20-cv-10076-JLK/BECERRA

KEY WEST BAR PILOTS ASSOCIATION

and PIER B DEVELOPMENT CORP,

a Florida corporation,

Plaintiffs,

v.

R. JOYCE GRIFFIN, in her official capacity as 

SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS FOR MONROE

COUNTY, FLORIDA; the CITY OF KEY WEST,

FLORIDA, a municipal corporation of the State of 

Florida; and KEY WEST COMMITTEE FOR SAFER,

CLEANER SHIPS, INC., a Florida non-profit

corporation, 

Defendants.

_____________________________________________/

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT KEY WEST COMMITTEE, INC.’s

MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

On August 12, 2020, the Court conducted a properly noticed hearing by Zoom regarding

cross-motions for summary judgment filed by plaintiffs, Key West Bar Pilots Association (“Bar

Pilots”) and Pier B Development Corp. (“Pier B”), and defendant, Key West Committee for Safer,

Cleaner Ships, Inc. (the “Key West Committee”). Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment sought

on constitutional and statutory grounds to remove three (3) citizen-sponsored Initiatives from the

December 3, 2020 ballot. Those Initiatives seek to add three (3) provisions to the City of Key West

Charter. The Key West Committee’s motion for summary judgment sought dismissal of plaintiffs’

Case 4:20-cv-10076-JLK Document 62 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/18/2020 Page 1 of 3
2

entire action for lack of justiciability under Article III of the U.S. Constitution and related prudential

reasons.

The parties agreed that the Key West Committee’s motion for summary judgment raised

“threshold” issues of Article III justiciability; therefore, the Court first dealt with that motion. The

Court carefully considered the parties’ respective written submissions regarding the Key West

Committee’s motion for summary judgment (ECF Nos. 40, 41, 42, 52 and 53), reviewed the

extensive case law cited by the parties, did its own research, and heard extended oral argument from

counsel for the parties.

As announced on the record at the conclusion of the August 12th hearing, the Court is

persuaded that as a matter of undisputed fact and law, the Key West Committee carried its burden

entitling it to summary judgment. Specifically, the Court found that, because cruise ship operations

into Key West ceased in mid-March 2020 under a CDC “No Sail” Order implemented in response

to the COVID-19 pandemic, and because those cruise ship operations will not resume until October

31, 2020 at the earliest, plaintiffs cannot show that they will be causally injured by mere inclusion

of the three (3) citizen Initiatives on the November 3, 2020 ballot (which may or may not receive

voter approval). Under these circumstances, plaintiffs have not met their burden of demonstrating

injury that is (a) “concrete” and “particularized,” and (b) “actual” or “imminent,” not merely

“conjectural” or “hypothetical” under Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61 (1992).

Thus, plaintiffs fail to satisfy Article IIIstanding requirements, the declaratory and injunctive relief

sought by plaintiffs is not constitutionally “ripe” for decision, and would constitute an advisory

opinion.

For these reasons, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows: 

Case 4:20-cv-10076-JLK Document 62 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/18/2020 Page 2 of 3
3

1. The KeyWest Committee’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, and this action

is hereby dismissed without prejudice.

Since this case is dismissed based on Article III justiciability grounds, the Court need not, and 

does not, reach the issues raised in plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment

DONE AND ORDERED in chambers at the James Lawrence King Federal Justice 

Building and United States Courthouse, Miami, Florida, this 18 day of August, 2020. th

 

JAMES LAWRENCE KING

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

cc: All Counsel of Record

Case 4:20-cv-10076-JLK Document 62 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/18/2020 Page 3 of 3