Here are the highlights for April:
* On April 1, we served our expert report on the damages sustained by Catholic Healthcare International, Inc. (CHI) as a result of the denial of its special land use application to construct a prayer campus and a small adoration chapel on its 40-acre property located in Genoa Township, Michigan.
In May 2021, Genoa Township unlawfully denied CHI the right to build this prayer campus on its property, prompting this civil rights lawsuit arising under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), a federal law that prohibits religious discrimination in land use decisions.
According to our expert, Dr. Stan Smith of the Smith Economic Group, Ltd., CHI has suffered damages in excess of $4 million due to an increase in the construction costs, lost donations, and payment of excess taxes, all due to the Townshipâs denial and the delay associated with it. And this doesnât include the attorneysâ fees that the Township will be responsible for paying should we ultimately prevail.
During this month, we also responded to numerous discovery requests from the Township.
You can read more about this case here.
* On April 21, the Virginia Supreme Court flatly rejected the petition for a rehearing of the Courtâs previous ruling on February 12 of this year, rejecting the Afghan coupleâs legal challenge to the adoption of a badly wounded baby girl left orphaned on an Afghan battlefield when her non-Afghan jihadist parents died fighting Army Rangers.
The earlier landmark decision by Virginiaâs Supreme Court, now affirmed, ruled in favor of Joshua and Stephanie Mast, upholding their adoption of a severely wounded orphaned child rescued by U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.
This ruling brings to a close many years of complex litigation and international attention, affirming the finality of the Mastsâ adoption and dismissing challenges brought by Afghan nationals A.A. and F.A., aka John and Jane Doe, who had sought to overturn the adoption order.
You can read more about this important case here.
* We are also in the midst of discovery in the Wilson v. City of Moscow case, in which we are representing Nate Wilson and his two sons, who were charged by the City with violating an ordinance that prohibits the posting of âadvertising matterâ on City property without written permission.
We filed this civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.
Nate and his sons have the distinction of being the only individuals ever charged by the City with violating this ordinance. Indeed, the record shows that the posting of flyers, decals, handbills, and other âadvertising matterâ on City poles in this university town is a long-established and permitted practice.
The City targeted the Wilsons because the âadvertising matterâ they posted was critical of the Cityâs draconian COVID-19 restrictions and because City officials have developed and demonstrated an animosity toward Christ Church, a conservative Christian community to which the Wilsons belong. In fact, the pastor is Nate Wilsonâs father.
You can read more about this case here.
We have many other important cases at various stages of litigation. You can read more about our work on our website.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We couldnât do what we do without them!