News Categories: Civil Rights, Corrections, and 42 USC 1983 Litigation

September 2021

Local Government Forced to Issue Bonds to Pay RLUIPA Legal Fees

A New York case is the latest example of why local governments should proceed carefully in RLUIPA litigation to avoid costly outcomes. In the case of the Village of Pomona, NY (Pomona), a RLUIPA case that has dragged on for more than a decade – bouncing from the district court

July 2021

SCOTUS Sides with Amish Community on RLUIPA Land Use Claim

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has finally reached the merits of a RLUIPA land use matter – sort of. To the extent the court touched on the RLUIPA questions in Mast v. Fillmore County on July 2nd, the overarching message from at least one justice was clear:

June 2021

Amish Community Waiting to See if SCOTUS Will Review RLUIPA Claim

It appears as though another term of the Supreme Court will close without the high court evaluating a religious land use claim under The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). An Amish community from Minnesota had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether state laws requiring the

April 2021

FBMJ Attorneys Featured Presenters at MSHRM Event

FBMJ attorneys, Saulius Polteraitis and Carlos Escurel, recently presented “Covid Liability and Impact Medical Malpractice Claims” to the Michigan Society of Healthcare Risk Managers (MSHRM) as part of its Webinar series. They were joined by Mike Severyn of ProAssurance on the panel. The presentation covered the anticipated landscape of malpractice claims

New York Village Settles One RLUIPA Suit, Faces New One From DOJ

A New York village settled one lawsuit alleging violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) while the U.S. Department of Justice filed a new, larger lawsuit against the village alleging a broad, ongoing practice of discriminating against religious land uses. The federal government’s lawsuit alleges that