U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. Stafford (E.D. Va.)
On October 14, 2021, the United States filed a notice of dismissal in United States v. Stafford County, VA (E.D. Va.), after obtaining the relief it sought in the case. The United States’ complaint, filed on June 19, 2020, alleged that the County violated the substantial burden provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) when it enacted an ordinance that imposed 900-foot distance requirements between cemeteries and private wells and perennial streams, thereby prohibiting the All Muslim Association of America (AMAA) from developing a religious cemetery on land it had bought for that purpose. The complaint alleged that the distance requirements were not justified for health or safety reasons, exceeded state standards, and did not exist in any other jurisdiction in Virginia. In response to the United States’ investigation and filing of the lawsuit, the County repealed the ordinances that prevented the AMAA from developing the cemetery, approved the AMAA’s site plan for the cemetery, implemented new internal procedures for addressing complaints, provided RLUIPA training to employees, posted RLUIPA-related notices, and, in settling the private suit filed by the AMAA, agreed to pay the AMAA $500,000 in damages.
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