NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives has asked the Davidson County Chancery Court to dismiss the lawsuit on the sign ban rule.

Speaker Cameron Sexton (R—Crossville), along with Chief House Clerk Tammy Letzler, Sgt. at Arms Bobby Trotter and Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Matt Perry, filed a motion Tuesday requesting Chancellor Anne C. Martin dismiss the suit “as a matter of law,” stating the issue is now moot now that the special session has concluded.

The suit was brought by three women removed from a House committee hearing last week for holding signs in violation of a new rule adopted by the House specifically for the special session on public safety called by Gov. Bill Lee. Allison Polidor, Erica Bowton and Maryam Abolfazli, through the ACLU of Tennessee, said in their arguments that the sign rule was a constitutional violation that infringed on their rights to free speech.

Represented by the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, Sexton argued the House’s rule was not an infringement of constitutional rights and simply a way for the House to conduct business without distractions.

Martin, however, disagreed, saying the rule was adopted specifically for the special session and could be an unconstitutional restriction on free speech and ordered an emergency injunction against the rule a few days into the special session. She further ruled against the House when Sexton asked for the emergency injunction to be stayed and to allow the sign rule to go back into effect.

But now that the special session is over, Sexton said the plaintiffs’ claims are moot and the suit should be dismissed.

“The special session has now adjourned. And the procedural rules adopted by the House for the special session—including the Sign Regulation that Plaintiffs ask this Court to declare unconstitutional and enjoin—are no longer in effect,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in the filing.

“Because no ‘present, ongoing controversy’ remains,” Skrmetti said, the claims brought against the Speaker are “moot and should be dismissed as a matter of law.”