Constitutional Law: Inverse Condemnation-Land-Use Regulations-Religious Exercise

Where a Catholic high school challenged city zoning regulations that prohibit the school from using lighting and sound systems on its baseball field, the district court properly granted summary judgment to the city defendant on the school’s claim brought under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act because the school did not show that its religious exercise was substantially burdened by its inability to use the baseball field at night because alternative times and locations were available, and the school did not show that it was treated less favorably than the local public high school, and summary judgment also was appropriate on the inverse condemnation claim because the regulations were not a regulatory taking and were a valid use of the city’s police powers under Missouri law, but the district court abused its discretion by retaining jurisdiction to decide the claim brought under the Missouri Religious Freedom Restoration Act when no federal claim remained.

Judgment is affirmed; vacated and remanded in part.

Marianist Province of the United States v. City of Kirkwood (MLW No. 74293/Case No. 18-3076 – 14 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Gruender, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, White, J. (Daniel Paul Dalton, Detroit, argued for appellant; Michael P. Stephens, Ronald E. Jenkins, Stephen L. Kling Jr., Noel W. Sterett and Sally Sinclair Perez appeared on the brief) (John M. Hessel, St Louis, argued for appellee; Joseph Ernest Martineau and Sarah Anne Milunski appeared on the brief).