Third Church of Christ, Scientist, of N.Y. v. City of N.Y., No. 08-6022

Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act Action

In Third Church of Christ, Scientist, of N.Y. v. City of N.Y., No. 08-6022, an action seeking a permanent injunction prohibiting New York City from restricting a church's use of its facility for private, catered events pursuant to the equal-terms provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the court affirmed an injunction in favor of plaintiff, holding that the formal differences the City asserted could not protect its course of conduct and the institutions at issue were similarly situated for all functional intents and purposes relevant here.

As the court wrote:  "The district court (Batts, J.) issued a permanent injunction pursuant to the equal-terms provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc et seq ., prohibiting the City from restricting Plaintiff-Appellee Church's use of its facility for private, catered events. In so doing, it held that the City allows secular institutions in the Church's neighborhood to conduct the same types of events."

Related Resources

• Read the Second Circuit's Decision in Third Church of Christ, Scientist, of N.Y. v. City of N.Y., No. 08-6022