International Church of Foursquare Gospel v. City of San Leandro

902 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 2012 WL 3583038, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117347
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedAugust 20, 2012
DocketNo. C 07-3605 PJH
StatusPublished

This text of 902 F. Supp. 2d 1286 (International Church of Foursquare Gospel v. City of San Leandro) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
International Church of Foursquare Gospel v. City of San Leandro, 902 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 2012 WL 3583038, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117347 (N.D. Cal. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER RE DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON, District Judge.

Defendant’s motion for summary judgment came on for hearing before this court on June 20, 2012. Plaintiff appeared by its counsel Scott Hennigh and Meredith Jones-McKeown, and defendant appeared by its counsel Deborah J. Fox, Jayne W. Williams, and Marci Hamilton. Having read the parties’ papers and carefully considered their arguments, the court hereby GRANTS the motion in part and DENIES it in part, as follows.

BACKGROUND

This is an action brought by plaintiff International Church of the Foursquare [1290]*1290Gospel (“ICFG”) against defendant City of San Leandro under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person’s Act of 2000 (“RLUIPA”) 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc, et seq. ICFG’s complaint is based on the City’s refusal to rezone land (“the Catalina property”) that ICFG’s affiliate, Faith Fellowship Foursquare Church (“the Church”), wanted to use to expand its facilities, or to provide the Church with an exemption to the zoning.

In the first amended complaint, ICFG alleged three causes of action under RLUIPA, asserting that the City’s land restrictions placed a “substantial burden on religious exercise,” in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a); that the denial of the rezoning application constituted “treatment of religious assembly on less than equal terms with nonreligious assembly,” in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(b)(l); and that the denial of the Church’s use of the Catalina property constituted “total exclusion from jurisdiction or unreasonable limits on religious assemblies within jurisdiction,” in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(b)(3). ICFG also asserted claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violation of the Church’s rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

On December 22, 2008, 632 F.Supp.2d 925 (N.D.Cal.2008) the court issued an order granting the City’s motion for summary judgment and denying ICFG’s cross-motion. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit found a triable issue of material fact as to whether the City imposed a substantial burden on the Church’s religious exercise under RLUIPA, and also found that the City had failed to prove a compelling interest for its actions. See International Church of the Foursquare Gospel v. City of San Leandro, 634 F.3d 1037, as amended, 673 F.3d 1059 (9th Cir.2011). The court did not address the “equal terms” provision of RLUIPA, or the First and Fourteenth Amendment claims.

At the case management conference (“CMC”) held in January 2012, ICFG indicated that it was voluntarily abandoning all claims other than the RLUIPA claims. The City now seeks summary judgment on the question whether the damages ICFG seeks are available or proper under the “substantial burdens” provision of RLUIPA.

DISCUSSION

A. Legal Standard

A party may move for summary judgment on a “claim or defense” or “part of ... a claim or defense.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.

A party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for its motion, and of identifying those portions of the pleadings and discovery responses that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Material facts are those that might affect the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute as to a material fact is “genuine” if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id.

Where the moving party will have the burden of proof at trial, it must [1291]*1291affirmatively demonstrate that no reasonable trier of fact could find other than for the moving party. Soremekun v. Thrifty Payless, Inc., 509 F.3d 978, 984 (9th Cir.2007). On an issue where the nonmoving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party can prevail merely by pointing out to the district court that there is an absence of evidence to support the opposing party’s case. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548. If the moving party meets its initial burden, the opposing party must set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial in order to defeat the motion. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), (e).

When deciding a summary judgment motion, a court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and draw all justifiable inferences in its favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Hunt v. City of Los Angeles, 638 F.3d 703, 709 (9th Cir.2011).

B. RLUIPA

RLUIPA prohibits the government from imposing “substantial burdens” on “religious exercise” unless there exists a compelling government interest and the burden is the “least restrictive means of satisfying the governmental interest.” See San Jose Christian College v. City of Morgan Hill, 360 F.3d 1024, 1033-34 (9th Cir.2004) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000ec(a)(l)).1 The statute broadly defines “religious exercise” to include “any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-5(7)(A).

The “substantial burden” provision applies only if one of three conditions exists. The third condition, applicable here, is that the substantial burden must have been “imposed in the implementation of a land use regulation or system of land use regulations, under which a government makes, or has in place formal or informal procedures or practices that permit the government to make, individualized assessments of the proposed uses for the property involved.” Id. § 2000cc(a)(2)(C).

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Bluebook (online)
902 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 2012 WL 3583038, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117347, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-church-of-foursquare-gospel-v-city-of-san-leandro-cand-2012.