RLUIPA Claim Involving Jewish Cemetery Not Ripe for Review
Twersky v. Town of Hempstead (E.D.N.Y. 2012) involves the construction of an ohel in a Jewish cemetery. “An ohel is a stand-alone structure customarily built over the graves of righteous scholars and...
View ArticleRLUIPA Claim Lurks as New Jersey Planning Board Mulls Mosque Application
While even National Public Radio continues to discuss whether New Jersey is more aptly described as the “Garden State” or the “Armpit of America,” New Jersey may soon have a new claim to fame as the...
View ArticleCalifornia City Grants Conditional Use Permit to Church Ministering to Homeless
Mercy Way Rescue, formerly known as F.A.I.T.H. (Feeding and Inspiring the Homeless), a church whose mission it is to “spread the good, new and unconditional love, grace and unmerited mercy of Jesus to...
View ArticleRLUIPA Article: Individualized vs. Generalized Assessments: Why RLUIPA Should...
The Duke Law Journal recently published Individualized vs. Generalized Assessments: Why RLUIPA Should Not Apply to Every Land-Use Request, by Katie M. Ertmer. What is an “individualized assessment”...
View ArticleDwight Merriam Edits Book on the Latest Developments in Land Use Law
The American Bar Association has published Dwight Merriam's ninth book, At the Cutting Edge 2012: Land Use Law from The Urban Lawyer. This book, a valuable resource for practitioners, planning...
View ArticleRLUIPA Equal Terms Provision – It’s All About the “Benjamins”
RLUIPA’s Equal Terms provision provides in part: “No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with...
View ArticleCity of San Diego Agrees to Pay $500,000 & Demolish Homes to Settle RLUIPA...
The Academy of Our Lady of Peace (Academy) is an all-girls, Catholic private secondary school established in 1882 and has been located in the North Park area of San Diego since 1925. The Sisters of...
View ArticleDoes RLUIPA Protect Polygamists?
The Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) is a polygamist community consisting of approximately 7,500 members who consider themselves “Latter Day Saints” and whose members are primarily scattered in towns in...
View ArticleFEDERAL COURT FINDS DALLAS ORDINANCE VIOLATES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OF CHURCH...
The Religious Freedom Restoration ActIn 1993, Congress enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which adopted the compelling interest test established in two prior U.S. Supreme Court cases...
View ArticlePrisoner Sues Under RLUIPA for Conjugal Visits
The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) applies in two contexts: (1) where a religious institution or individual seeks zoning approval or receives a zoning decision, and (2)...
View ArticleNew York Federal Court Dismisses RLUIPA Suit Involving Faith-Based...
BackgroundCandlehouse Teen Challenge (Candlehouse) is a Christian-based rehabilitation center that seeks “to restore individuals who struggle with life controlling problems such as alcohol abuse and/or...
View ArticleFlorida Inmate Requesting Circumcision Could Bring Suit Under RLUIPA
Florida inmate Pablo Manuel Diaz, serving a life sentence in a Blackwater Correctional Facility in Milton, Florida for manslaughter, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping, has...
View ArticleNew Jersey Court Finds City of Millburn Zoning Ordinances Violate RLUIPA’s...
Chai Center for Living Judaism, Inc. v. The Zoning Board of Adjustment for the Township of Millburn, No. ESX-L-9244-11 (New Jersey Superior Court 2013) involves a Jewish institution’s application for a...
View ArticleFirst Circuit Defines RLUIPA Substantial Burden Standard -- Sort of . . .
In Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield v. City of Springfield (1st Cir. 2013), Plaintiff Roman Catholic Bishop (“RCB”) sued the City of Springfield alleging that the City’s creation of a single-parcel...
View ArticleLouisiana Appellate Court Finds Land Use Ordinance Requiring Lease Payments...
In Parish of Jefferson v. Daughters of St. Paul Inc. d/b/a/, Pauline Books and Media (2013), the Louisiana Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of the...
View ArticleCalifornia Federal Court Dismisses Fortune-Teller’s RLUIPA Claims As Unripe...
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...
View ArticleEleventh Circuit Clarifies Ripeness Requirements For RLUIPA And...
For the second time in a month, a federal appellate court has chosen not to apply the ripeness test established by the United States Supreme Court in Williamson County Regional Planning Comm’n v....
View ArticleFourth Circuit Clarifies What Constitutes “Religious Exercise” Under RLUIPA
In Moore-King v. County of Chesterfield (4th Cir. 2013), the plaintiff, Patricia Moore-King, is a fortune teller known as “Psychic Sophie.” Psychic Sophie describes herself as “very spiritual in...
View ArticleJewish Organization Files RLUIPA Lawsuit Over Denial To Construct Eruv
The East End Eruv Association filed a federal lawsuit against the Township of Southampton and the Southampton Zoning Board of Appeals after the Board’s denial of its application to construct an eruv,...
View ArticleSixth Circuit: RLUIPA Claims Dismissed for Lack of Ripeness Might be Cured by...
In yet another case about ripeness, the Sixth Circuit, in Tree of Life Christian Schools v. City of Upper Arlington (6th Cir. 2013), recently weighed-in on the issue. Tree of Life Christian Schools...
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