U.S. Department
of Justice
The Summit Church-Homestead Heights Baptist Church v Chatham County, North Carolina Board of Commissioners
On April 18, 2025, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in The Summit Church-Homestand Heights Baptist Church, Inc. v. Chatham County, North Carolina Board of Commissioners (M.D.N.C.), a lawsuit alleging that the County violated RLUIPA by denying the church’s application to rezone several parcels of land to allow the church to build a new place of worship. Summit Church filed a motion for preliminary injunction, seeking an order requiring the County to approve Summit Church’s rezoning request and associated site plan. The County responded in opposition to the motion for preliminary injunction with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing in part that the zoning decision is a “legislative act” under state law and that the Court therefore lacks jurisdiction under RLUIPA to grant injunctive relief to the church, requiring the Court to dismiss the complaint. The department’s statement of interest argues that the church has standing to pursue its RLUIPA claims and that its alleged injury is redressable through the relief it seeks, including injunctive relief that would require the County to grant the rezoning. On June 20, 2025, the Court granted in part the church’s motion for a preliminary injunction and enjoined the County’s denial of the church’s rezoning application. The Court’s order noted that it denied the County’s motion to dismiss at the June 9, 2025, hearing on the church’s motion for a preliminary injunction.