Lakewood Pawnbrokers, Inc. v. City of Lakewood

This is an appeal by the City of Lakewood from a judgment of the district court declaring the City’s ordinance regulating the business of “pawnbrokering” unconstitutional. The appellee, Lakewood Pawnbrokers, Inc., an entity subject to the ordinance, instituted the action for a declaratory judgment under the provisions of C.R.C.P. 57(b) and C.R.C.P. 65 before the ordinance became operative.

Lakewood is a statutory city. It enacted the ordinance in question pursuant to the grant of authority in C.R.S. 1963, 139-32-1, which provides that:

“The governing bodies in cities and towns shall have the…