The Michigan Court of Claims issued a preliminary injunction, temporarily stopping the state’s ban on flavored vapes.
In the ruling, Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Diane Stephens said the harm done to vape businesses, which would have to shut down because of the ban, outweighs the interest of the state in stopping youths from using the products.
“Not only has plaintiff A Clean Cigarette lost a significant percentage of its sales and closed several stores due to the ban, the ban will force plaintiff to rebrand itself entirely,” Stephens said. “In essence, the emergency rules will destroy plaintiff A Clean Cigarette’s business as it currently exists.”
Michigan was the first state to issue a ban on flavored vapes on Oct. 2, ordering that all flavored vape products be removed from store shelves. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the ban Sept. 3.
Several states followed, and the Trump administration also said it would implement a ban on the flavored products.
However, Stephens said the state couldn’t justify the need for the emergency rules.
“Indeed an agency cannot create an emergency by way of its own failure to act,” she said, adding that “this is not a final order, and it neither resolves the last pending claim nor closes the case.”
