The Village Board for the Village of Woodbury, New York (“Village”) is considering a new law that would require a permit in order to erect or maintain an eruv in any public street, right-of-way or easement. ...more
Earlier this month, an Islamic community center filed suit against the City of Troy, Michigan (“City”) after the City denied the group’s application for a variance needed to operate a mosque at the property it owns in the...more
11/21/2018
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Churches ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Due Process ,
Equal Protection ,
Establishment Clause ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Free Speech ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Variances ,
Zoning Laws
A federal court in Maryland has denied the City of Laurel, Maryland’s (“City”) motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Redemption Community Church (“Church”). ...more
10/18/2018
/ Churches ,
Equal Protection ,
Establishment Clause ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Nonprofits ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Right to Peaceful Assembly ,
RLUIPA ,
Substantial Burden ,
Use & Occupany Permits ,
Zoning Laws
Recent amendments to the zoning code of the City of Monroe, North Carolina (the “City”) are unconstitutional, according to the Complaint filed by At the Cross Fellowship Baptist Church (the “Church”), a congregation of...more
A district court in the Southern District of Florida has dismissed as unripe claims brought by Centro de Ensenanza Palabra de Fe, Inc. (“Centro”), a tax-exempt religious organization that operates a daycare center and...more
4/20/2018
/ Administrative Remedies ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
Dismissals ,
First Amendment ,
Florida ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Ripeness ,
RLUIPA ,
Statutory Violations ,
Substantial Burden
Redemption Community Church (the “Church”) has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Laurel, Maryland (the “City”), after the City issued a cease and desist order prohibiting the Church from offering religious services...more
3/13/2018
/ Cease and Desist ,
Churches ,
Equal Protection ,
Establishment Clause ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Free Speech ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Restaurant Industry ,
RLUIPA ,
Substantial Burden ,
Zoning Laws
A federal district court in Illinois has dismissed religious discrimination and related claims alleged by the Church of Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ (“Church”) against the City of Markham, Illinois (“City”), in connection...more
2/21/2018
/ Conditional Use Permit ,
First Amendment ,
Mootness ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Ripeness ,
RLUIPA ,
Substantial Burden ,
Summary Judgment ,
Variances
Maryland and the Board of Appeals of Baltimore County (together, “Baltimore County”), challenging Baltimore County’s conditional approval of the Church’s development plan, which sought to expand an existing house of worship. ...more
In an update to our previous post about an eruv dispute in New Jersey, the Mahwah Township Council has voted to withdraw two ordinances at the center of a religious discrimination lawsuit involving the construction of an...more
Today we report on a fascinating decision out of the Tenth Circuit. It’s not a land use case. It’s not even an RLUIPA case. But we thought it appropriate for this time of year. The plaintiff, a pro se prisoner named...more
We recently posted about a lawsuit filed by Bergen Rockland Eruv Association, Inc. (“BREA”) against the Township of Mahwah, New Jersey, regarding a dispute over the expansion of an eruv. Since then, eruv disputes have evoked...more
11/20/2017
/ Equal Protection ,
Establishment Clause ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Freedom of Association ,
Local Ordinance ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Right of Way ,
RLUIPA ,
State and Local Government ,
Stop Work Orders
Last week, Jesus Christ is the Answer Ministries, Inc. (the “Church”), a nondenominational Christian church in Baltimore County, Maryland, and the Church’s pastor, Reverend Lucy Ware, filed suit against Baltimore County,...more
Last month, Bayonne Muslims, a New Jersey not-for-profit religious congregation, sued the City of Bayonne, New Jersey (the “City”), challenging the City’s denial of certain variances needed to construct a mosque. ...more
6/8/2017
/ Due Process ,
Equal Protection ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
State and Local Government ,
Variances ,
Zoning Laws
Earlier this month, Agudath Israel of America Inc. (“Agudath Israel”) sued the Township of Jackson, New Jersey (“Jackson”), challenging Jackson’s recently-enacted land use ordinances restricting schools from all but three...more
The District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the City of Markham from requiring the Original Bible Church of Illinois to obtain conditional use approval to use property...more
3/3/2017
/ Churches ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
Discrimination ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
Summary Judgment ,
Zoning Laws