Opinion ID: 613273
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Claims Seeking Damages

Text: Although a case will normally become moot when a subsequent [ordinance] brings the existing controversy to an end, CAMP v. City of Atlanta, 219 F.3d 1301, 1310 (11th Cir.2000), when the plaintiff has requested damages, those claims are not moot, Granite State Outdoor Adver., Inc. v. City of Clearwater, Fla., 351 F.3d 1112, 1119 (11th Cir.2003); see also Crown Media, LLC, 380 F.3d at 1324 (citation omitted). Covenant requests damages as a form of relief for all four RLUIPA claims. Thus we address the merits of these claims.
The district court concluded that the 2004 Ordinance did not impose a substantial burden on religious exercise in violation of RLUIPA (Count VI) (42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(a)(1)); that the 2004 Ordinance did not discriminate against Covenant on the basis of religion in violation of RLUIPA (Count VIII) (42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(b)(2)); and that the 2004 Ordinance did not unreasonably limit religious assemblies in violation of RLUIPA (Count IX) (42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(b)(3)). The court granted summary judgment in favor of the City on these claims. We may affirm this grant of summary judgment on any ground supported by the record. Rozar v. Mullis, 85 F.3d 556, 564 (11th Cir.1996) (citation omitted). We need not address each of these RLUIPA claims individually in order to affirm the district court's judgment dismissing these claims. Instead, we affirm the judgment dismissing these claims on the ground that Covenant has failed to produce evidence that it suffered damages as a result of the 2004 Ordinance. In the previous section, we explained that Covenant is not entitled to an injunction allowing it to build its church in the R-2 residential zone because all claims seeking injunctive relief are moot due to passage of the 2008 Ordinance. Because Covenant is not entitled to an injunction allowing it to construct a church in the R-2 residential zone, Covenant cannot recover any damages that stem from the inability to build its church in this zone. And, those damages are the only damages that Covenant has identified in this case. Thus, to the extent that Count VI, Count VIII, and Count IX all seek damages, we conclude that those claims, while not moot, fail on the merits because they seek damages Covenant cannot recover.
The district court concluded that the 2004 Ordinance, on its face, violates the equal terms provision of RLUIPA, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(b)(1). The court also concluded, as we have for the other RLUIPA claims, that Covenant has failed to produce evidence of compensatory damages for the equal terms claim. The City, in its cross-appeal, argues that the district court erred in finding that the 2004 Ordinance facially violates the equal terms provision of RLUIPA and that the court erred in awarding nominal damages for this claim. We find no error in the district court's treatment of the equal terms claim and the award of nominal damages. RLUIPA's equal terms provision states that [n]o government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution. 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(b)(1). The only issue in this case is whether the 2004 Ordinance facially differentiates between religious and nonreligious assemblies or institutions. [9] To state an equal terms violation, a plaintiff has the burden of showing the following elements: (1) the plaintiff must be a religious assembly or institution, (2) subject to a land use regulation, that (3) treats the religious assembly on less than equal terms, with (4) a nonreligious assembly or institution. Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana of Boca Raton, Inc. v. Broward Cnty., 450 F.3d 1295, 1307-08 (11th Cir.2006) (citing 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc(b)(1)). Once the plaintiff produces prima facie evidence supporting an equal terms violation, the government bears the burden of showing the land use regulation passes strict scrutiny  that is, the regulation employs a narrowly tailored means of achieving a compelling government interest. Id. at 1308 (citing Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 546, 113 S.Ct. 2217, 2233, 124 L.Ed.2d 472 (1993)). The City first argues that the equal terms claim fails because private parks, playgrounds, and neighborhood recreation centers do not qualify as an assembly under RLUIPA, and thus the City can treat these entities differently than religious assemblies without running afoul of RLUIPA. The City reasons that those who attend these places are not assembling for a common purpose because their reasons for visiting differ; some seek exercise, others seek relaxation, and still others seek solitude. We reject the City's argument. Private parks, playgrounds, and neighborhood recreation centers are assemblies within the meaning of RLUIPA because they are places where groups or individuals dedicated to similar purposes  whether social, education, recreational, or otherwise  can meet together to pursue their interests. Midrash Sephardi, Inc. v. Town of Surfside, 366 F.3d 1214, 1231 (11th Cir.2004). That some individuals have different purposes for meeting in a particular place does not mean the place fails to qualify as an assembly under RLUIPA. The City next argues that, even if Covenant can state a prima facie violation, the City has met its burden of showing that the 2004 Ordinance passes strict scrutiny. According to the City, the 2004 Ordinance's complete prohibition of religious assemblies in residential areas is a narrowly tailored means of achieving the City's compelling interest in preserving residential neighborhoods and protecting those areas from traffic, crowds, and disruption. We cannot agree that a complete prohibition of religious assemblies in residential zones is a narrowly tailored means of achieving the City's interest in preserving the residential character of neighborhoods. As the district court noted, recreation centers, parks, and playgrounds have similar potential for community disruption, increased traffic, and encroachment into residential neighborhoods, but the 2004 Ordinance permits such uses in residential zones. As a result, the City's proffered interests in protecting residential neighborhoods from traffic, crowds, and disruption are not pursued against analogous nonreligious conduct, and those interests could be achieved by narrower ordinances that do not improperly distinguish between similar secular and religious assemblies. Midrash, 366 F.3d at 1235. The 2004 Ordinance, therefore, does not pass strict scrutiny.