An evangelical church, Life Covenant Church a/k/a LifeChurch.tv (“LifeChurch”), is suing Colonie, New York (“Town”), the Town’s Planning Board, certain of its members, and the Town’s attorneys over allegations that the Town’s failure to issue certain land use approvals is religious discrimination in violation of RLUIPA and the state and federal constitutions. Presently, LifeChurch has … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, we reported on the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) against the City of St. Anthony Village, Minnesota (“City”) over the City’s denial of Abu Haraira Islamic Center’s (“Center”) conditional use permit to develop a 15,000 square foot religious and cultural center in the basement of a property located … Continue Reading
The Bensalem Masjid Inc. (“Masjid”) has sued Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania (“Township”) and the Township’s Zoning Hearing Board (“Board”) for denying approval to construct a mosque. Nine months after the application was submitted and after multiple public hearing sessions, the Township denied the proposed 16,900 square foot place of worship, a 500 square foot conference room, … Continue Reading
The Township of Bridgewater, New Jersey has agreed to pay nearly $8 million to settle a lawsuit over claims that its denial of Al Falah Center’s proposal to construct a mosque violated the Religious Land Use & Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The Center, which sought to use a former hotel on Mountain Top Road as … Continue Reading
We previously reported on the case Cornerstone Church by the Bay v. Town of Bayview, Texas, in which the Church and the Laguna Madre Christian Academy are suing the Town (population approx. 400) under the Religious Land Use & Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (TRFRA), and the state and federal … Continue Reading
In an important decision, the court in Aldon, LLC v. City of Newport News, Virginia (E.D. Va. Nov. 20, 2014), clarified the standing requirements under RLUIPA. Few courts have addressed RLUIPA’s standing requirements. The Court also held that “the difficulty associated with finding an affordable location in an urban area alone does not amount to … Continue Reading
Garden City, Kansas is being sued under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the U.S. Constitution, and state law over allegations that it has discriminated against a local church, Mount Zion Church of God in Christ (Church). The Church alleges the following in its complaint. The Church, which consists of about thirty … Continue Reading
On November 6, 2014, Daniel P. Dalton, John F. X. Peloso, Jr. and I participated in the webinar “Litigating Religious Land Use Cases,” hosted by the ABA’s State & Local Government Section. We discussed the state of the Religious Land Use & Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) as it nears its fifteen birthday, and provided practical tips … Continue Reading
The Associated Press reports that an Oklahoma state court, in Prescott v. Capitol Preservation Commission, (OK Cnty Dist. Ct., Sept. 19, 2014), has ruled that a six-foot tall Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol did not violate the Establishment Clause because of its historical value. The monument is part of … Continue Reading
The State & Local Government Section of the American Bar Association is hosting a webinar that may be of interest to our readers – “Litigating Religious Land Use Cases.” Here is a description of the program: This program will explore and analyze legal principles and issues related to litigating religious land use cases. It will … Continue Reading
By Kristina Doan Gruenberg of Burke, Williams, Sorensen LLP Stephen Cavanaugh, an inmate incarcerated by the Nebraska Department of Corrections, filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging that prison staff repeatedly discriminated against him by not allowing him to meet for worship services and classes, or to wear religious clothing and pendants. Cavanaugh says that he … Continue Reading
The agendas and faculty lists have been released for the 2015 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation (the “masters” program, now in its 32nd year), and Condemnation 101: How to Prepare and Present an Eminent Domain Case (the boot camp or refesher course on eminent domain fundamentals). The program will take place from February 5-7 … Continue Reading
Isaac Avilucea, The Connecticut Law Tribune October 13, 2014 A Muslim prisoner has taken Arkansas prison officials to the U.S. Supreme Court for refusing to allow him to grow a one-inch beard for religious purposes. In New Mexico, a prisoner sued corrections officials for not allowing him to practice Satanism. Here in Connecticut, convicted Cheshire … Continue Reading
The American Planning Association’s Planning & Law Division is hosting a webinar on October 22, 2014 that may be of interest to many of our readers and to others looking for a break from RLUIPA. Here is a description of the program: The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and the right … Continue Reading
[Editors' Note: This posting is reprinted with permission from the Inverse Condemnation blog.] Ah, Williamson County. We've ranted about it before, so we won't do so here (again). But takings mavens know that a property owner must meet two tests before she can raise a takings claim against a state or local government in federal court: … Continue Reading
Jay Stapleton, The Connecticut Law TribuneSeptember 30, 2014 A lawsuit filed by a Litchfield Jewish organization has been reinstated, giving the group new hopes it will ultimately win approval to build a 20,000-square-foot synagogue and community center near the historic green. Chabad Lubavitch filed its lawsuit against the Litchfield Historic District Commission in 2007, after … Continue Reading
Law Tribune Staff and Wire Reports, The Connecticut Law TribuneSeptember 24, 2014 A long-running dispute between the city of Norwalk and an Islamic group appears to be settled, with the city agreeing to pay $2 million to the group and help it find an alternate location for a mosque and a meeting hall. The case … Continue Reading
Jay Stapleton, The Connecticut Law Tribune, September 5, 2014 Lawyers representing an Islamic group that wants to build a mosque in Norwalk had run up an estimated $5.5 million legal tab. That number was making attorneys representing the city a bit nervous. And so the two sides have agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed … Continue Reading
In 2007, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded a home in Cheshire, Connecticut, where they horrifically murdered a mother and her two children. Hayes and Komisarjevsky were sentenced to death for their crimes. Now, Hayes is suing the Connecticut Department of Correction and several of its officials for being refused a kosher diet. The handwritten … Continue Reading
The Village of Bloomingburg, NY (Village) and the Town of Mamakating, NY (Town) are facing allegations of religious discrimination in land use regulation. On September 8, 2014, the Bloomingburg Jewish Education Center, Sullivan Farms II, Inc., Learning Tree Properties, LLC and other interested entities and individuals (Plaintiffs) sued the Village and the Town and certain … Continue Reading
Temple B’Nai Zion and the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida have settled their four-plus years of litigation over the Temple’s appeal of the City’s historic site designation of property owned by the Temple and used as a synagogue. We previously reported on the case a year ago, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued the City of St. Anthony Village under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) after the City Council, in 2012, denied the Abu Huraira Islamic Center’s application for a conditional use permit to develop and operate a 15,000 square foot religious and cultural center in … Continue Reading
Al Madany Islamic Center and the Norwalk Zoning Commission have agreed to the terms of a proposed settlement stemming from the Commission’s 2012 denial of the Islamic Center’s proposal to construct a 27,000 square-foot mosque and multi-purpose hall on 1.5 acres in a residential neighborhood. The U.S. Department of Justice intervened in the case after … Continue Reading
In Felix v. City of Bloomfield (D. NM Aug. 7, 2014), the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico found that the display of a five-foot, granite Ten Commandments monument outside City Hall violated the Establishment Clause “because its conduct in authorizing the continued display of the monument on City property has had … Continue Reading
