Summum v. City of Ogden

152 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12760, 2001 WL 920236
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedJanuary 31, 2001
Docket1:98-cv-00150
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 152 F. Supp. 2d 1286 (Summum v. City of Ogden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Summum v. City of Ogden, 152 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12760, 2001 WL 920236 (D. Utah 2001).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JENKINS, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff Summum, a self-professed church, seeks to make a gift to the City of Ogden of a stone monument containing thereon seven aphorisms characterized by it as religious in nature. 1 It wants to have a stone etched with its seven tenets placed in the Ogden Municipal Gardens.

Ogden City, while appreciative of the good will of the donor, rejected the gift.

Summum seeks an order of this Court directing Ogden City to accept the gift. It asserts that Ogden City has accepted other monuments, and particularly one from the Fraternal Order of Eagles that it characterizes as religious in nature, thereby creating a limited public forum for such displays. (See Complaint, filed March 11, 1999 (dkt. no. 1), at 12, 13.) It merely wants to have its religious say,

The Court heard arguments with respect to the cross motions for summary judgment on October 15, 1999, and again on December 3, 1999. Brian M. Barnard and James L. Harris appeared on behalf of the plaintiffs and Richard A. Van Wagoner appeared on behalf of the defendants.

The Court having reviewed the parties’ motions, memoranda and supplemental materials, and having heard oral argument from counsel and after fully considering the same, hereby denies Plaintiffs’ motions and grants Defendants’ motion.

Factual Background

I. The Parties and the Controversy

Plaintiffs filed a complaint in this Court on March 11, 1999 seeking declaratory relief that defendants’ conduct in rejecting a proffered gift violates the Free Expression, Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and similar provisions of the Utah Constitution. Plaintiffs further seek an order allowing plaintiff Summum to erect and display a monument containing tenets of its faith in the Municipal Gardens of Ogden City. This matter was consolidated with a another action filed in Freedom From Religion Foundation v. City of Ogden, 1:98-CV-0150, which sought to have the Eagles’ donated monument removed from the Ogden Municipal Gardens. After consolidation, the parties stipulated to the dismissal of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. That action was dismissed by court order dated May 20, 1999. The remaining parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment as to the remaining issues.

Summum is a corporate sole under the laws of the State of Utah since November 3, 1975, and qualifies as a religion under the Internal Revenue Code. Summum’s world headquarters are located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Summum Bonum Amen Ra is the president of Summum, and there are others who serve as officers and directors. Seven principles are at the core of the Summum religion, which are the subject matter of the monument that Sum- *1289 mum proposes to erect and display in the Ogden City Municipal Gardens. R.L. Zef-ferer is a resident of Weber County and a member of the Summum religion.

Summum and Zefferer filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the City of Ogden and individual members of the Ogden City Council for refusing to erect and display a donated monument in the Ogden City Municipal Gardens containing tenets of the Summum religion while continuing to display a monument containing a version of the “Ten Commandments” donated by the Eagles. The proposed Summum monument is similar in size, shape and design to that of the Eagles’ monument. Summum offered the proposed monument as a gift to the City of Ogden and was willing to pay all of the costs associated with the monument’s creation and installation.

The City of Ogden is a government entity and a governmental subdivision of the state of Utah. Pursuant to Utah Code Ann. 10-3-1 et seq., Ogden City has delegated to Glenn J. Mecham, Mayor and Jesse M. Garcia, Kenneth J. Alford, Fasi Filiaga, Rick Mayer, John W. Wolfe, Ralph Mitchell, and Garth B. Day, Ogden City Council members, the administrative authority to determine whether displays or monuments will be placed on property belonging to Ogden City. 2

A letter dated November 20, 1998, was sent to Glenn J. Mecham, Mayor of the City of Ogden and Glen H. Burton, Chair of the Weber County Commission, by Brian M. Barnard, on behalf of “several clients,” requesting that the City and County remove the Eagles’ donated monument located on the grounds of the City and County Building in Ogden, Utah. 3 The monument was not removed. On December 28, 1998, Freedom from ■ Religion Foundation, Inc., a Wisconsin corporation, and J. Dailey filed a complaint against the City, the Mayor and the Councilmen. The complaint alleged a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. (See Complaint, filed December 30, 1998 (dkt. no. 1), at 3-5, 10.) The complaint was later consolidated with this action and dismissed by stipulation of the parties through counsel for plaintiffs in the remaining action. (See Order dated May 20, 1999 (dkt. no. 32).)

A letter dated March 2, 1999, was sent to Mayor Mecham by Summum Bonum Amen Ra, the President of Summum, seeking “permission of the City to place a monument on the grounds of the Ogden City and County Building.” (See Exhibit R, Complaint, filed March 11, 1999 (dkt. no. 1).) The proposed monument was to contain seven principles, tenets of Sum-mum’s religious beliefs. 4 On March 9, *1290 1999, the City Attorney responded to Sum-mum, requesting 30-45 days “to research various issues before providing a substantive response .... ” Treating the March 9, 1999 letter as a denial, on March 11, 1999, Summum and Zefferer sued the City of Ogden, alleging violations of the First Amendment Speech, Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses and corresponding claims under the Utah Constitution, Sum-mum and Zefferer seek monetary compensation, punitive damages and declaratory and injunctive relief as well as attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988. (See Complaint, Civil No. 1:98-CV-0031J, filed March 11, 1999 (dkt. no. 1), at 2,17.)

The City Council instructed the City Attorney to decline the proposed donation and to explain their rationale for it in a letter to Mr. Barnard. The letter, dated July 26,1999, states:

On July 20, 1999, the Ogden City Council considered the Summum religion’s proposal to donate a monument containing an inscription of Summum’s fundamental religious principles and, as a condition of the donation, require the City to display it among the other City-owned monuments on the Municipal Grounds. For the reasons set forth below, the City declines to accept the gift.

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Bluebook (online)
152 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12760, 2001 WL 920236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/summum-v-city-of-ogden-utd-2001.