Dan Dalton quoted in Washington Post on interplay between RLUIPA and eminent domain
Dalton & Tomich PLC founding attorney Dan Dalton was recently quoted in a Washington Post article about a religious land use dispute in Pennsylvania.
The dispute involves a piece of property in Lancaster County that is owned by a group of Catholic nuns who are dedicated to environmental protection and activism. An energy company wants to run a natural gas pipeline directly through the Adorers’ property. In a form of protest and because they consider the land to be holy ground, the nuns built an outdoor chapel in the path of the planned pipeline.
The energy company tried repeatedly to negotiate with the nuns for use of the land but was ultimately unsuccessful. Now, the energy company seeks to seize the nuns’ land through eminent domain. In April, the energy company filed a notice of condemnation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Dan Dalton was asked to comment on whether RLUIPA protects religious entities threatened with eminent domain actions.
“There is something to this ‘holy land’ thing,” said Dan Dalton, a Michigan land-use and zoning attorney and the author of a book on the litigation of religious land-use cases. “There haven’t been a lot of appellate cases…. It really is a relatively new issue.”
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which governs the area in Pennsylvania at issue in this matter, has yet to rule on this issue. Given the competing federal issues at play—religious institutions’ rights under RLUIPA and other entities’ eminent domain rights under federal law—it is probable this issue will make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court sooner rather than later.
The full Washington Post article with Dan’s comments can be found here.
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Dalton & Tomich, PLC is the national leader in successfully helping churches, other religious institutions and their insurers defend their rights in land use and zoning matters under RLUIPA, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. We have helped clients win cases against municipalities and other local government bodies from coast to coast, with experience serving both as general counsel and special litigation counsel.
Harry HoffSenior Pastor, Hope Rising Community Church, Verona, PA
In 2015, Hope Rising Community Church experienced extreme opposition, the kind that would force it to close its doors and leave behind the families and youth it was so passionate about reaching. As the lead pastor I felt helpless, inferior and as if I had no […]
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Dalton & Tomich’s assistance in our RLUIPA matter has paved the way for our church to continue serving the community and for new churches in the area to thrive in the future. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your stand for religious […]
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The Urban Church will be forever grateful to Dalton & Tomich plc for navigating it through a difficult land use issue. Let them give you honest and caring advice because that’s exactly what they’ll do.
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Dalton & Tomich, PLC defended a complicated case at a church we insure. Not only is the firm professional, they understand how church business runs and work well within church leadership.
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Dalton & Tomich, PLC helped us immensely in the areas of litigation and negotiation! Their professionalism and understanding of church policy helped our church be victorious in a modern day religious land use battle. RLUIPA Religious Land Use Case: Lighthouse Community Church of God
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I met Dan Dalton during a dark time for our church. He was recommended as the leading RLUIPA attorney in the nation. He demonstrated wisdom, expertise, a gentle nature, a calming inter-relational skill, genuineness, and a humble demeanor, while at the same time, being sharp, […]
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Mr. Dalton’s expertise and experience helped us through a very difficult legal journey, ultimately achieving a favorable outcome. His personal interest in helping our church went “above and beyond” just the call of duty. His understanding of both legal and spiritual matters seems to uniquely […]
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