The Chabad House for Towson University and Goucher College, pictured above, has filed a lawsuit against Baltimore County, Maryland (the “County”), following a state court order requiring demolition of a newly-constructed...more
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
“When is this Church like that Library?” The District Court for the Northern District of Illinois considered this question in its review of the City of Chicago’s motion to dismiss a RLUIPA equal terms claim brought against...more
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
A court in Chatham County, Georgia has granted the City of Savannah’s (“City”) request for a preliminary injunction temporarily prohibiting Rabbi Arnold Belzer and his wife from operating a “short-term vacation rental” and/or...more
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
Chabad Jewish Center of Toms River, Inc. (“Chabad”) has settled its religious discrimination lawsuit against the Township of Toms River, New Jersey (“Township”), putting to rest its allegations that the Township violated each...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
In December, we reported that the Mahwah Township Council (“Council”) voted to withdraw two ordinances at the center of RLUIPA litigation involving the expansion of an eruv proposed by Bergen Rockland Eruv Association...more
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
That was the question before the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners earlier this month.
The conflict arose as a result of John and Stephanie Shepherd’s continued attempts to host weddings on their property in...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
A church has filed suit against the City of Davenport, Iowa (the “City”), after the City issued it a Cease and Desist Order (the “Order”) prohibiting the service of meals to the homeless, alleging violations of RLUIPA’s...more
The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has reached an agreement with Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania (“Township”), resolving allegations that the Township violated each of RLUIPA’s provisions when it denied a use...more
An Illinois appellate court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of RLUIPA claims asserted by the First United Methodist Church of West Dundee (the “Church”) against the Village of West Dundee, Illinois (the “Village”), finding...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
A federal court in the District of New Jersey has determined that claims asserted by the Congregation Kollel, Inc. (“Congregation”) against the Township of Howell, New Jersey (“Township”), based on the allegedly improper...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