Ct. of Appeals vacated on mootness grounds Dist. Ct.’s order that denied plaintiffs-eight students’ request for preliminary injunction to preclude enforcement of defendant-University’s policy that required unvaccinated students and faculty to get COVID-19 vaccine or subject themselves to wearing masks and getting regular COVID-19 tests. Record showed that seven out of eight plaintiffs qualified for religious exemption to vaccine mandate, and eighth plaintiff declared that she had no plans to return as student to University. As such, lawsuit was moot, where no plaintiff faced potential consequence of vaccine mandate. Also, Ct. rejected plaintiffs’ contention that mootness doctrine did not apply, because subject of lawsuit is capable of repetition, but evading review, since: (1) capable-of-repetition doctrine applies only if dispute can recur between same parties, and instant plaintiffs will not be aggrieved by defendant’s vaccine requirement in future; and (2) instant vaccine requirement is not in short-lived category, whose application will be complete before court can act.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Mootness Doctrine