A homeowner filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging an ordinance passed by the local municipality that would significantly increase their property taxes if enforced. However, the ordinance has not yet been applied, and it is unclear when or if the municipality will implement it. The municipality moves to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. What is the strongest legal reason the court should grant the motion?
The homeowner lacks standing because they have not suffered a specific injury tied to the ordinance.
The court cannot issue advisory opinions and must avoid ruling on hypothetical legal scenarios.
The case is moot because the ordinance has not yet been implemented.
The case is not ripe because the ordinance has not been enforced, and potential harm is speculative at this time.
The issue presented involves ripeness, as the ordinance has not yet been implemented, and there is no certainty that it will be applied in a way that impacts the homeowner. Ripeness ensures that courts resolve actual, rather than hypothetical, disputes, requiring that harm has occurred or is imminent. Standing, by contrast, focuses on whether the plaintiff has suffered a concrete and particularized injury, but since the harm here is speculative, ripeness is the central issue. While mootness and advisory opinions involve other barriers to jurisdiction, they do not fit the situation—mootness applies to cases where a live controversy no longer exists, and advisory opinions pertain to hypothetical or abstract resolutions.
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