Federal District Court Decisions

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The Northern District of California recently dismissed RLUIPA claims filed by the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the Methodist Church (the “Conference”) against the City of San Francisco.  The case revolves around the sale of a Methodist Church located at 1601 Larkin Street in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco.  The church was constructed after…

In an important decision for municipalities across the country, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has ruled that excluding religious institutions from certain zoning districts on the grounds that they do not generate tax revenue is a legitimate exercise of zoning power if (1) the intent of the district is…

In Davis v. City of Selma (ED CA 2013), Stephanie Davis, a 30-year old wife and mother who is a palm-reading fortune-teller, sued the City of Selma, California alleging violations of her rights under the U.S. Constitution, RLUIPA, and the California Constitution.  At issue was the Selma Municipal Code’s (the “SMC”) prohibition against fortune-telling without…