Despite all the stories about courts failing to properly restrain government, occasionally a judge comes along who demonstrates proper judicial authority and sets a great example for how to put the brakes on government overreach.
Missoula County in Montana is responsible for regulating and licensing hotels and similar services. Logically, as not all businesses are the same, there are exemptions for some of the regulations for smaller types of accommodation services, like small guest ranches. Illogically, Missoula County tried to punish Lolo’s Dunrovin Guest Ranch for being too small to qualify for the small business exemptions.
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Missoula regulations state that ranches that accommodate between 9 and 24 guests a night qualify for an exemption from the regulation and licensing requirements for larger hotels. Because the Dunrovin Ranch averages fewer than 9 guests a night, the county argued that it does not qualify for the exemption and should be subject to the more stringent and costly regulations that govern bigger businesses. When Dunrovin did not immediately comply, the county filed an injunction to stop the business from operating until it met the higher and much more costly standards.
The county attorney even called it “peculiar” and “bizarre,” but argued that until the issue is clarified, the county must enforce the rules against the Dunrovin Ranch. Judge Ed McLean rightly pointed out that this “narrow definition…leads to a bizarre result and makes no sense whatsoever.” The county should be helping small businesses succeed, not harassing them with overbearing regulation.
McLean said that the regulation’s intention was to give guidelines to “assist … small and seasonal establishments with addressing basic health standards.” These regulations were never meant to shut down small businesses because they don’t fit into the box created by the legislature.
