Opulent Life Church v. City of Holly Springs (5th Circuit)

On March 14, 2012, the United States filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs in Opulent Life Church v. City of Holly Springs (5th Circuit). This case involves a small church that leased space in the central business district of Holly Springs, Mississippi, but was denied a permit to renovate and occupy the space. In Holly Springs, churches must meet a number of standards that other uses need not meet, including approval of the Mayor and Board of Alderman and the approval of 60% of homeowners within a 1,300-foot radius. After the church's permit was denied, it filed a complaint under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), challenging the ordinance both facially and as applied, and sought a preliminary injunction against the city. The court denied the preliminary injunction on the grounds that the plaintiff had not showed irreparable harm. The United States' amicus brief argues that the disparate treatment of churches compared to other assemblies violates Section 2(b)(2) of RLUIPA, which provides that religious assemblies may not be treated on less than equal terms with nonreligious assemblies and institutions. The brief also argues that the church had shown that it would be irreparably harmed if the discrimination against it were allowed to continue.