ANDREW COOPERRIDER; DEANS DINER, LLC, dba Brewed v. MAGGIE WOODS, Malt Beverage Administrator with the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, ANDREW G. BESHEAR, Governor of Kentucky, RAY A. PERRY, Secretary of Public Protection Cabinet, ALLYSON TAYLOR, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, WESLEY WARDEN DUKE, General Counsel for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and JOSHUA NEWTON, General Counsel for the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, in their individual and official capacities - Articles

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ANDREW COOPERRIDER; DEANS DINER, LLC, dba Brewed v. MAGGIE WOODS, Malt Beverage Administrator with the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, ANDREW G. BESHEAR, Governor of Kentucky, RAY A. PERRY, Secretary of Public Protection Cabinet, ALLYSON TAYLOR, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, WESLEY WARDEN DUKE, General Counsel for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and JOSHUA NEWTON, General Counsel for the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, in their individual and official capacities

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 7, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Christopher Wiest, Theodore Roberts, CHRIS WIEST, ATTY AT LAW, PLLC, Covington, Kentucky, Thomas B. Bruns, BRUNS, CONNELL, VOLLMAR, ARMSTRONG, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellants.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Jan M. West, J. W. Hall, GOLDBERG SIMPSON, LLC, Prospect, Kentucky, for Appellees Maggie Woods and Allyson Taylor.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Laura C. Tipton, Travis Mayo, Taylor Payne, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, Frankfort, Kentucky, for Appellee Andy Beshear.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: T. Chad Thompson, KENTUCKY PUBLIC PROTECTION CABINET, Frankfort, Kentucky, for Appellee Ray Perry.

Attorneys 5: ON BRIEF: LeeAnne Applegate, CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, Frankfort, Kentucky, for Appellee Wesley Duke.

Attorneys 6: ON BRIEF: Jennifer Wolsing, KENTUCKY PUBLIC PROTECTION CABINET, Frankfort, Kentucky, for Appellee Joshua Newton.

Judge(s): MOORE, CLAY, and THAPAR, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Frankfort

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. In March 2020, Andrew Cooperrider expressed on social media his dissatisfaction with Kentucky Governor Andrew Beshear’s actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cooperrider, the owner of Brewed, a coffee shop and bar in Lexington, took specific offense to Governor Beshear’s executive orders requiring masks indoors and prohibiting indoor dining and drinking. Then, in November 2020, the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“DABC”) suspended Brewed’s alcohol license. Upon DABC’s official revocation of Brewed’s license in March 2022, Cooperrider filed suit against the Governor, the DABC commissioner, and a number of other executive-branch officials alleging First Amendment and due-process violations. According to Cooperrider, his social media postings and the license-revocation action were connected: the Governor and DABC had allegedly revoked Brewed’s alcohol license in retaliation for Cooperrider’s protected speech criticizing Beshear and his COVID-19 policies. All defendants responded to the suit by moving to dismiss. The district court granted those motions and dismissed the case. Cooperrider and Brewed now appeal. We hold that the district court correctly determined that the vast majority of Cooperrider’s claims are barred by the doctrines of absolute, qualified, and sovereign immunity, and that it correctly determined that Cooperrider’s remaining substantive-due-process claim fails the Rule 12(b)(6) pleading standard. So we AFFIRM IN PART the dismissals. But because we hold that the district court improperly granted qualified immunity to Appellees Beshear, Perry, and Duke as to Cooperrider’s First Amendment retaliation claim, we REVERSE IN PART and REMAND for further proceedings.

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