Wade Steven Gardner, Et Al.v.William Mutz, Et Al.
A group of individuals and organizations challenged Lakeland’s relocation of a Confederate monument, asserting First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment claims. The district court reached the merits of the free-speech claim and dismissed the due-process claim for lack of standing. The Eleventh Circuit held that the plaintiffs had not alleged a concrete, particularized injury and therefore lacked Article III standing. The court explained that generalized interests in preserving a monument or expressing a broad viewpoint were insufficient, and the plaintiffs’ taxpayer theory was unsupported because public funds were not shown to finance the relocation. The court vacated the merits dismissal of the First Amendment claim and remanded for dismissal without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. It affirmed the without-prejudice dismissal of the due-process claim.
Loading published copy…

