It has been nearly a month since I last posted a blog entry. The reason is that I have been preparing for, than appearing at, a significant land use trial in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan before the Honorable David Lawson. Read the rest of this entry »
Historic verdict secured in landmark case
August 15th, 2010Endowments and the Church
June 25th, 2010
Endowments have been in the news recently with respect to religious institutions invading the principal to sustain their ministries. So what is an endowment and in general, what rules need to be followed with respect to them? Read the rest of this entry »
Why RLUIPA matters
June 21st, 2010Since January, 2010, I have flown 30256 around the United States helping religious entities in religious land use disputes. And this weekend I was reminded why RLUIPA matters at the Becket Funds’ Annual Dinner for Religious Freedom. Read the rest of this entry »
10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the Rocky Mountain Christian Church jury verdict.
June 16th, 2010In a unanimous decision, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict, finding that sufficient evidence was presented at trial to justify the jury’s determination that the denial of the Church’s special use application violated the equal terms provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Read the rest of this entry »
Defamation and the Clergy
June 2nd, 2010To what extent the pastor is protected from slander claims that might come out of an exchange that recently took place during a meeting of church members? Read the rest of this entry »
Does RLUIPA apply to Historic Preservation designations?
May 21st, 2010In reaction to the loss of several important buildings within larger metropolitan areas in the 1950’s, communities throughout the nation began grassroots efforts aimed at providing a legal mechanism to protect local significant historic resources. Read the rest of this entry »
Historic Preservation and Special Use Permits
May 10th, 2010In World Outreach Conference Center v. City of Chicago and Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church v. City of Peoria, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, Case Nos. 08-4167; 09-2142 (Decided December 30, 2009) a consolidated appeal, the cases involve the application of substantial burden in two specific fact patterns. Read the rest of this entry »
State Religious Freedom Restoration laws
May 3rd, 2010In addition to the federal law creating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, several states have enacted their own version of the law. Indeed, since 1997, a dozen State Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA’s) have become law. Read the rest of this entry »
A RLUIPA case study: When communities refuse to allow a Church to use land on the basis of loss of tax dollars
April 24th, 2010Carlinville Southern Baptist Church, located in Carlinville, Illinois thought how blessed it was when it purchased a former Wal-Mart store in early 2008 to have a home. The Church had worshiped in its building for several years prior, but grew rapidly to the point that it needed to expand or move to accommodate its members and to continue to serve the community. Read the rest of this entry »
Considerations in filing a RLUIPA lawsuit
April 16th, 2010If your religious organization is considering a RLUIPA challenge to local zoning laws, it should consider the following actions before filing a lawsuit. Read the rest of this entry »
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