Abaco Finance, Inc. v. City of Birmingham

I respectfully dissent. It was error for the trial court to grant the writ of mandamus in the absence of an evidentiary hearing. The trial court met with the parties in camera and ordered them to submit briefs setting forth their respective positions and legal arguments. Thereafter, without an evidentiary hearing, the trial court found that the regulated use restriction bore no reasonable relation to the public health, safety and general welfare, and, therefore, the ordinance could not withstand scrutiny and was invalid as applied to plaintiff. This Court has held that whether there is a…