The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Montana
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Mont. Code Ann. 2-15-501(5) (Attorney General's supervisory power over county attorneys); the underlying action rested on Mont. Code Ann. 50-2-116, -118, -123 and -124
- Issued
- 2021-01-14 Jan. 14, 2021
- Effective
- 2021-01-14 (dismissal ordered by noon Jan. 15, 2021) (read as 2021-01-14)
- End
- n/a (the action was dismissed; the preliminary injunction of Dec. 18, 2020 was to be dissolved)
- In force
- Jan. 14, 2021 (no end date recorded; counted as in force for 120 days)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q42021 Q1
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Business closureCurfew and hoursStanding duty
- Addressees
- specified businesses (bars and restaurants under the Gallatin health officer's hours rule); all businesses subject to county health orders
- Character
- enforcement record
- Collection
- Standing duties: Montana DUT-MT
Operative words
Knudsen directed County Attorney Marty Lambert to promptly dismiss the case against the Bozeman business that had refused to adhere to the mandate that businesses close at 10:00 p.m.... 'This announcement will give stability and certainty to Montana businesses. They will no longer have to fear prosecution for simply serving their customers,' John Iverson of the Montana Tavern Association said.
Penalty
Civil action and preliminary injunction under 50-2-118(1)(e) and 50-2-123; the letter directs dismissal under M. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) and an application to dissolve the injunction under 27-19-401
What it required
The record of enforcement in fact: the Gallatin City-County Board of Health and its Health Officer sued a Bozeman bar for refusing the county's 10 p.m. closure rule (Ex. MT-076, MT-077) and obtained a preliminary injunction on December 18, 2020, which stood until the Attorney General, on January 14, 2021 (the day after the Governor's Directive removed hours restrictions, Ex. MT-020), ordered the county attorney to dismiss the action and to coordinate the dissolution of the injunction; the Tavern Association's words record that Montana businesses had until then faced 'prosecution for simply serving their customers'. Character as recorded: enforcement_record (press release; order_penalty layer).
Retrieval noteRecorded exactly: the Attorney General characterized the closure rule as 'government overreach'; the release is cited for the fact of the injunction and the exposure to enforcement, never for the Attorney General's characterization.