ST. JOSEPH ABBEY v. CASTILLE

No. 11-30756.

712 F.3d 215 (2013)

ST. JOSEPH ABBEY; Mark Coudrain, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. Paul Wes CASTILLE; Royal J. David; Gerald L. Schoen, III; J. Steven Cox; Andrew Hayes; Margaret Shehee; Kelly Rush Williams; Louis Charbonnet, in their official capacities as Members of the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors; Patrick H. Sanders, in his official capacity in place of Oscar A. Rollins (deceased), Defendants-Appellants.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

March 20, 2013.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Scott G. Bullock , William H. Mellor, III , Jeff Rowes , Darpana Sheth , Institute for Justice, Arlington, VA, Frederick Evans Schmidt, Sr. , Koch & Schmidt, L.L.C., New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.

Walter Rimmer Woodruff, Jr. , Bopp Law Corporation, Mandeville, LA, David W. Gruning , New Orleans, LA, Preston L. Hayes , Michael Harrison Rasch , George Brian Recile , Chehardy, Sherman, Ellis, Murray, Recile, Griffith, Stakelum & Hayes, L.L.P., Metairie, LA, for Defendants-Appellants.

Daniel A. Ranson , Gaudry, Ranson, Higgins & Gremillion, L.L.C., Gretna, LA, for Amicus Curiae Louisiana Funeral Directors Association.

Mary Grace   Huebert Lang , Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, L.L.P., Irvine, CA, for Amicus Curiae Todd J. Zywicki.

John F. Daly , Ruthanne Mary Deutsch , Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae Federal Trade Commission.

Matthew Addison Dent Draper, Cara Tseng Duffield , Elbert Lin , Wiley Rein, L.L.P., Washington, DC, for Amici Curiae International Cemetery, Cremation, and Funeral Association and Funeral Consumers Alliance.

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, HAYNES, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges.


PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

An Abbey of the Benedictine Order of the Catholic Church challenges as unconstitutional rules issued by the Louisiana Board of Funeral Directors granting funeral homes an exclusive right to sell caskets. The district court enjoined their enforcement, finding that they deny equal protection and due process of law. We will AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

I.

The thirty-eight monks of St. Joseph Abbey...

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