Here are the highlights for September:
* As previously reported, on July 14, we filed a motion for reconsideration of the district courtâs order dismissing our lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department. This lawsuit is a putative class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of a substantial LA property owner and manager.
The lawsuit alleges that the Cityâs shuffling of the homeless onto or near private property effectively destroys the value of the property and amounts to a violation of the Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution, a de facto condemnation under the California Constitution, and creates public nuisances.
The judge dismissed the lawsuit without permitting discovery. Our motion for reconsideration presented sworn declarations from four homeless individuals who provided firsthand knowledge of the Cityâs policy and practice of removing them during cleanup, but then directing them to return to the private property following the cleanup processâthe very evidence the court originally said was missing.
The court denied our motion, and on September 6, we filed our appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
* On September 17, we filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Dearborn, Michigan, and its mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, for their promotion of Islam and hostility toward Christians and Jews.
The clearest command of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is that one religious denomination cannot be preferred over another. Dearborn and its mayor have taken this to the next level by not only preferring Islam, but by demonstrating hostility toward Christians and Jews.
It is not surprising that Dearborn is a place where City streets are renamed after supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah, which are Islamic terrorist organizations recognized as such by the U.S. Government, or where you will hear âDeath to Americaâ and âDeath to Israelâ chanted loudly at public rallies, or where its mayor publicly admonishes a Christian pastor and tells him that he is ânot welcomeâ in Dearborn at a City Council meeting because the pastor questioned the propriety of remaining a street after an Islamic terrorist sympathizer.
For years, Dearborn has publicly celebrated Ramadan using government resources, including tax dollars, but has refused repeated requests by our client in this case, Margot Cleveland, that the City and its mayor simply provide equal recognition and treatment of Christian and Jewish holy days.
Despite repeated attempts to reach an amicable resolution of this issue, the City and its mayor have steadfastly refused, prompting this lawsuit.
You can read more about this case here.
* On September 22, we filed our reply brief in support of our motion for summary judgment in the Wilson v. City of Moscow case.
In this case, 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 the âadvertising matterâ ordinance, while the record shows without contradiction that the posting of flyers, decals, handbills, and other such âadvertising matterâ on City poles in this university town is a long-established practice.
The City targeted the Wilsons because their postings were critical of the Cityâs draconian COVID-19 restrictions and because City officials harbor animosity toward Christ Church, a conservative Christian community to which the Wilsons belong. The pastor of this church is Nate Wilsonâs father.
You can read more about this case here.
* On September 28, we filed a motion for summary judgment in our lawsuit against Genoa Township, Michigan, asking the court to rule in our favor as a matter of law. This case, which we have been litigating for over five years, needs to come to an end as it is an egregious violation of religious liberty.
In May 2021, Genoa Township unlawfully denied CHI the right to build a prayer campus with a Saint Padre Pio adoration chapel on its 40-acre, wooded property, prompting this federal 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.
You can read more about this important 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!