Municipal Law: Ordinance Banning Dogs-Injunctive and Declaratory Relief-Standing

Defendant sought declaratory and injunctive relief from a municipal ordinance banning ownership of pit bulls. The district court dismissed defendant’s claims for lack of standing because she did not currently own a banned dog or reside in the municipality, although defendant asserted that she intended to adopt a new dog after the municipality enforced its ordinance against her previously owned pit bulls.

Where injunctive relief would not remedy previous municipal action against defendant’s prior dogs nor would she suffer a concrete future injury because she had no definite plan to acquire banned dogs in the municipality, the district court correctly dismissed defendant’s claims.

Judgment is affirmed.

Frost v. Myers (MLW No. 73051/Case No. 18-2138 – 6 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Gruender, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa