After being told that sprinklers must be installed in the warehouse where Praise Christian Center was holding religious services, the Center filed a complaint alleging that the City’s requirement was a violation of the “Equal Terms” provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The court dismissed the Center’s appeal as moot on the basis that the Center had since vacated the warehouse. In consideration of the Center’s petition for panel rehearing, the court held that they erred in dismissing the appeal as moot, and that a claim for nominal damages creates the personal interest necessary to maintain the claim. As Center sought nominal and compensatory damages in its complaint, its claim was not rendered moot when they stopped using the warehouse. The court further reviewed the merits of the claim and held Center failed to show disparate treatment.
Praise Christian Ctr. v. City of Huntington Beach, 2009 WL 3747430 (9th Cir., Nov. 9, 2009).
