Chabad Lubavitch of the Quad Cities, Inc. v. City of Bettendorf

389 F. Supp. 3d 590
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedJuly 2, 2019
Docket3:18-cv-00071
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 389 F. Supp. 3d 590 (Chabad Lubavitch of the Quad Cities, Inc. v. City of Bettendorf) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chabad Lubavitch of the Quad Cities, Inc. v. City of Bettendorf, 389 F. Supp. 3d 590 (S.D. Iowa 2019).

Opinion

ROBERT W. PRATT, Judge

Before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, filed on March 21, 2019. ECF No. 32. Plaintiffs filed a response on April 11, 2019. ECF No. 38. The matter is fully submitted.

*594I. BACKGROUND1

Schneur Cadaner is an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi and a member of Chabad Lubavitch, an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic movement. ECF No. 20 ¶¶ 11-13. He and his wife live in a house in Bettendorf, Iowa, where the Rabbi conducts various personal and public religious activities, including shabbat services, prayer, and bible studies. Id. ¶ 22-25. Chabad Lubavitch of Bettendorf advertises these services to the public with a website. Id. Ex. D-2.

Defendant City of Bettendorf has zoning ordinances in place that restrict what land may be used for in certain areas of the city, Id. ¶ 20, and Plaintiffs' house is located in an R-1 Single-Family Residence District that requires a special use permit for houses of worship, Bettendorf City Code §§ 11-6A-1; 11-6A-3.2 The Board of Adjustment also has broad authority to issue variances apart from special use permits. Id. § 11-2B-4(c). The City, through its employees, has sent three letters to Rabbi Cadaner regarding the Chabad and the use of the house for religious services. ECF No. 20 ¶¶ 27-29. The first two letters indicate that Plaintiffs need a special use permit or variance from the Board of Adjustment in order to use the property as a house of worship. Id. 20 ¶¶ 27, 29. The third states that Plaintiffs might need a business license for home occupation. Id. ¶ 28. Rabbi Cadaner does not allege he ever responded to these inquiries or applied to the Board of Adjustment for a special use permit or variance. After the first two letters were sent, the Bettendorf City Council approved a new zoning scheme that allows houses of worship in R-1 districts as of right. See id. Ex. B ("This section has been affected by a recently passed ordinance, 35-17 - ZONING AMENDMENTS."); Bettendorf, Iowa Ordinance 35-17, §§ 11-4-5, 11-5-4 n.1 (Oct. 17, 2017).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

" 'Judgment on the pleadings is appropriate only when there is no dispute as to any material facts and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law,' the same standard used to address a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure] 12(b)(6)." Ashley Cty., Ark. v. Pfizer, Inc. , 552 F.3d 659, 665 (8th Cir. 2009) (citation omitted). "[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). While not a "probability requirement," the plausibility standard requires a showing of more than just the "sheer possibility" of relief. Braden v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , 588 F.3d 585, 594 (8th Cir. 2009) (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ). To determine whether a complaint has stated a claim for the purposes of Rule 12(b)(6), "the factual allegations in the complaint are accepted as true and viewed most favorably to the plaintiff." Hager v. Ark. Dep't of Health , 735 F.3d 1009, 1013 (8th Cir. 2013). "[T]he complaint should be read as a whole, not parsed piece by piece to determine whether each allegation, in isolation, is plausible." Braden , 588 F.3d at 594. "Determining whether a claim is *595plausible is a 'context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.' " Hamilton v. Palm , 621 F.3d 816, 817-18 (8th Cir. 2010) (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ).

III. ANALYSIS

Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint alleges nine causes of action. First, for violations of Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution; second, for violations of Plaintiffs' free exercise rights under article I, section 3 of the Iowa Constitution ; third, for violations of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq. ; fourth, for violations of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ; fifth, for violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; sixth, for violations of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; seventh, for violations of equal protection and non-discrimination guarantees under article I, section 3 of the Iowa Constitution ; eighth, for violations of due process under article 1, section 9 of the Iowa Constitution ; and ninth, for injunctive relief.

A. Ripeness

The heart of Plaintiffs' claims arises out of Bettendorf's local ordinances, and primarily the zoning code, which Plaintiffs contend is unconstitutionally limiting them from using their property as a house of worship to host religious services.

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389 F. Supp. 3d 590, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chabad-lubavitch-of-the-quad-cities-inc-v-city-of-bettendorf-iasd-2019.