Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield Cnty., Inc. v. Borough of Litchfield, Connecticut, Civil Action No. 3:09–CV–1419 (JCH).

• Decision Date: 21 June 2011
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 3:09–CV–1419 (JCH).
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: CHABAD LUBAVITCH of Litchfield County, Inc., and Rabbi Joseph Eisenbach, Plaintiffs, v. BOROUGH OF LITCHFIELD, CONNECTICUT, et al., Defendants.

796 F.Supp.2d 333

CHABAD LUBAVITCH of Litchfield County, Inc., and Rabbi Joseph Eisenbach, Plaintiffs,

v.BOROUGH OF LITCHFIELD, CONNECTICUT, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 3:09–CV–1419 (JCH).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

June 21, 2011.

Frederick Nelson, Orlando, FL, Kenneth R. Slater, Jr., Thomas C. Blatchley, Halloran & Sage, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiffs.

Charles Scott Schwefel, Mark S. Shipman, Mary Catherine Curran, Shipman Sosensky & Marks LLC, Farmington, CT, Marci A. Hamilton, Washington Crossing, PA, Thomas R. Gerarde, Howd & Ludorf, Hartford, CT, for Defendants.

RULING RE: DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS (Doc. Nos. 88, 141) AND FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS (Doc. No. 101)

JANET C. HALL, District Judge.I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs, Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield County, Inc. (“the Chabad”), and Rabbi Joseph Eisenbach, bring this action against defendants, the Borough of Litchfield, Connecticut (“the Borough”) and the Historic District Commission of the Borough (“the HDC”) (collectively, “Borough defendants”); and Wendy Kuhne, Glenn Hillman, and Kathleen Crawford, members of the HDC (collectively, “individual defendants”), for declaratory relief and damages for injuries plaintiffs allegedly sustained as a result of the discriminatory activity of defendants.

Defendants have filed two separate motions with respect to plaintiffs' claims. Their first Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 88) is with respect to Rabbi Eisenbach.¹ Defendants argue that Eisenbach lacks standing, and they seek to have him dismissed as a party to this case pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. No. 101) challenges the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) and also seeks judgment on the pleadings with respect to Counts One through Eight, Eleven, and Twelve, on the ground that these Counts do not satisfy the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).² See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c).

For the following reasons, the court grants defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 88) with respect to Rabbi Eisenbach. However, the court denies defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. No. 101) with respect to Counts One through Eight, Eleven, and Twelve, and holds that RLUIPA is constitutional.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Chabad is a religious corporation that was formed in 1996 by Rabbi Eisenbach. See Third Am. Compl. ¶ 9 (Doc. No. 54). According to its Certificate of Incorporation, the Chabad has one class of members, specifically “ordained Chassidic Rabbis.” See Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. 5. Rabbi Eisenbach appears to be the only current member. See Eisenbach Dep. 24:7–10 (Aug. 11, 2010).

In 2007, in order to accommodate a growing body of parishioners, the Chabad purchased a building located in the Borough (“the Property”). Third Am. Comp. ¶¶ 31–32. The Property was located in a historic district of the Borough. Id. at ¶¶ 46–47. In order for the Property to be suitable for its needs, the Chabad sought to modify the building and filed a Certificate of Appropriateness before the HDC, on or about October 18, 2007.³ See id. at ¶¶ 58–63. After a series of public hearings, the HDC denied the Chabad's Certificate. Id. at ¶¶ 60–61.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEWA. Standard of Review Under Rule 12(b)(1)

A case is properly dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) when the district court lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it. See Morrison v. Nat'l Austl. Bank Ltd., 547 F.3d 167, 170 (2d Cir.2008); Makarova v. United States, 201 F.3d 110, 113 (2d Cir.2000). In assessing a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, “the court must take all facts alleged in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiff.” Natural Res. Def. Council v. Johnson, 461 F.3d 164, 171 (2d Cir.2006). The court, however, refrains from “drawing from the pleadings inferences favorable to the party asserting [jurisdiction].” APWU v. Potter, 343 F.3d 619, 623 (2d Cir.2003).

On a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), the plaintiff must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the court has subject matter jurisdiction over the complaint. See Morrison, 547 F.3d at 170; see also Makarova, 201 F.3d at 113; Malik v. Meissner, 82 F.3d 560, 562 (2d Cir.1996). A court evaluating a Rule 12(b)(1) motion “may resolve the disputed jurisdictional fact issues by reference to evidence outside the pleadings, such as affidavits.” Zappia Middle E. Constr. Co. v. Emirate of Abu Dhabi, 215 F.3d 247, 253 (2d Cir.2000).

B. Standard of Review Under Rule 12(c)

“The legal standards for review of motions pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) and Rule 12(c) are indistinguishable.” DeMuria v. Hawkes, 328 F.3d 704, 706 n. 1 (2d Cir.2003). In deciding such motions, the court takes the allegations of the Amended Complaint as true and construes them in a manner favorable to the plaintiffs. See, e.g., Hoover v. Ronwin, 466 U.S. 558, 587, 104 S.Ct. 1989, 80 L.Ed.2d 590 (1984); Phelps v. Kapnolas, 308 F.3d 180, 184 (2d Cir.2002). The court must draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs' favor. See, e.g., Yung v. Lee, 432 F.3d 142, 146 (2d Cir.2005).

A motion for judgment on the pleadings for failure to state a claim tests only the adequacy of the Complaint. See United States v. City of New York, 359 F.3d 83, 87 (2d Cir.2004). Bald assertions, and mere conclusions of law, do not suffice to meet the plaintiffs' pleading obligations. See Amron v. Morgan Stanley Inv. Advisors Inc., 464 F.3d 338, 344 (2d Cir.2006). Instead, plaintiffs are obliged to “amplify a claim with some factual allegations in those contexts where such amplification is needed to render the claim plausible.” Iqbal v. Hasty, 490 F.3d 143, 157–58 (2d Cir.2007), rev'd on other grounds sub. nom. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The “plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Ashcroft, 129 S.Ct. at 1949.

IV. DISCUSSIONA. Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 88)

Defendants ask this court to dismiss the claims brought by Rabbi Eisenbach, on the ground that he lacks standing to bring suit. Defendants argue that Rabbi Eisenbach does not have a property interest sufficient to satisfy the requirements of RLUIPA and that he lacks any interest independent of the Chabad sufficient to maintain standing under any of plaintiffs' remaining claims. See generally Defs.' Mem. (Doc. No 88–1). The court agrees.

RLUIPA requires a plaintiff to hold some property interest that he has attempted to use and which has been threatened by the illegal conduct of the defendant. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc–5(5) (requiring a claimant to have “an ownership, leasehold, easement, servitude, or other property interest in the regulated land or a contract or option to acquire such an interest”). Rabbi Eisenbach has no such interest. The Chabad is a religious corporation, which purchased the land in question and filed for the Certificate of Appropriateness. On the record before the court, Chabad is the only party with a “property interest.” Eisenbach's involvement in the purchase and application appears to have been only as a member of the organization, or its agent, and, this cannot support his standing claim. See Cambodian Buddhist Soc. of Conn., Inc. v. Planning & Zoning Comm'n, 285 Conn. 381, 396–98 & n. 9, 941 A.2d 868 (2008) (holding that president of religious organization lacked standing under RLUIPA, because he lacked a “traditional property interest” in the regulated property). Rabbi Eisenbach has not shown a plausible property interest or that he owns or leases the property.

Plaintiffs attempt to assert Eisenbach's standing under RLUIPA. They point to the fact that Eisenbach will use the facilities in question in various ways, including by living in accommodations within the proposed structure. However, these uses clearly do not qualify as “property” interests. ⁴ Plaintiffs also mention that Eisenbach has “a right to place a mortgage lien” on the purchased property for his unpaid salary. ⁵ See Eisenbach Decl. ¶ 15, Feb. 18, 2011. A construction of “property interest” to extend to a creditor of a corporation is so clearly incongruous with the language and purposes of RLUIPA, it barely warrants addressing. Needless to say, Eisenbach's interest as a creditor of the Chabad who may use the property cannot suffice to create standing under the Act.

Plaintiffs' arguments with respect to Eisenbach's remaining claims are similarly misplaced. The Connecticut Supreme Court has prohibited claims under CFRA by individuals which are entirely derivative of claims brought by a religious corporation. See Cambodian Buddhist Soc., 285 Conn. at 396, 941 A.2d 868 (“[T]he right to build [a] temple [cannot] be asserted independently by an individual member.”). The generality of the language used by the Connecticut Supreme Court in Cambodian Buddhist Society suggests that the court should also apply this standing principle to plaintiffs' claims pursuant to the Connecticut Constitution. See Third Am. Compl. ¶¶ 114–22. Federal courts have, similarly, not found individual standing for claims under Section 1983 that are “indirectly caused by harm to [a corporation] and therefore are not ‘distinct’ from those of the corporation.” Caravella v. City of New York, 79 Fed.Appx. 452, 452 (2d Cir.2003) (citing Potthoff v. Morin, 245 F.3d 710, 717 (8th Cir.2001)). The court sees no reason not to also apply this standing principle to plaintiffs' claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985, 1986. See Third Am. Compl. ¶¶ 100–13.

Plaintiffs make no serious attempt at distinguishing Eisenbach's claims from those of the Chabad. In fact, in plaintiffs' claim of injury in their Amended Complaint, they do not separately assert any injury on behalf of Rabbi...