Church v. Feiner

Citation734 F.Supp.2d 409
Decision Date12 August 2010
Docket NumberNo. 03 Civ. 4235(SCR),03 Civ. 4235(SCR)
PartiesFORTRESS BIBLE CHURCH and Reverend Dennis G. Karaman, Plaintiffs, v. Paul J. FEINER, Individually and in his Official Capacity as the Supervisor of the Town of Greenburgh, Eddie Mae Barnes, in her Official Capacity as Councilwoman for the Town of Greenburgh, Steven Bass, in His Official Capacity as Councilman for the Town of Greenburgh, Diana Juettner, in her Official Capacity as Councilwoman for the Town of Greenburgh, Timmy Weinberg, in her Official Capacity as Councilwoman for the Town of Greenburgh, the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh, and the Town of Greenburgh, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

Donna E. Frosco, Nicholas M. Ward-Willis, Keane & Beane, P.C., White Plains, NY, for Plaintiffs.

Kevin Joseph Plunkett, Thacher Proffitt & Wood, LLP, White Plains, NY, for Defendants.

ORDER AND OPINION

STEPHEN C. ROBINSON, District Judge:

Fortress Bible Church ("Fortress Bible Church" or "the Church") and Reverend Dennis Karaman ("Reverend Karaman") (collectively, "Plaintiffs" or "the Church"), brought this action against Paul Feiner, Eddie Mae Barnes, Steven Bass, Timmy Weinberg, the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh ("the Town Board"), and the Town of Greenburgh ("the Town of Greenburgh" or "the Town") (collectively, "Defendants" or "the Town"). Plaintiffs seek relief under: (1) the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq. ("RLUIPA"); (2) 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of Plaintiffs' First Amendment Free Exercise, First Amendment Free Speech, First Amendment Free Assembly, Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection, and Fourteenth Amendment Procedural Due Process rights; (3) the New York State Constitution, alleging violations of Plaintiffs' rights of free exercise, free speech, and equal protection; (4) New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, N.Y. Envir. Cons. LawW §§ 8-0101 et seq. ("SEQRA"), alleging that Defendants' acted arbitrarily, capriciously, and unlawfully in processing Fortress Bible Church's land use application; (5) various New York State statutes and the Greenburgh Town Code.

I. BACKGROUND
a. Procedural History

Plaintiffs commenced this action on June 11, 2003. By Notice of Motion dated July3, 2003, Plaintiffs sought an Order compelling the Town Board to, among other things, adopt and issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement ("FEIS") and SEQRA Findings Statement, thereby completing the SEQRA review process. By Notice of Motion dated July 28, 2003, Defendants moved to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim.

By Decision dated March 29, 2004, 2004 WL 1179306, this Court denied Plaintiffs' motion to compel the Town Board to complete the SEQRA process. In a separate Decision, also dated March 29, 2004, 2004 WL 1179307, this Court denied Defendants' motion to dismiss. On or about April 22, 2004, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint.

Thereafter, the parties engaged in a lengthy period of discovery that included approximately eighteen depositions and significant document productions.

By Decision dated May 4, 2006, this Court denied Defendants' motion for summary judgment, except with respect to a cause of action alleging denial of substantive due process. The Court reserved decision on Plaintiffs' motion in limine for sanctions and for an adverse inference based on spoliation of evidence. See Trial Tr. at 21:1-6.1 Trial commenced on October 11, 2006.

b. Trial

The twenty-six day bench trial conducted in this action commenced on October 11, 2006, and proceeded thereafter on non-consecutive days until its conclusion on March 6, 2007. On its case-in-chief, the Church presented testimony from seven fact witnesses and one expert witness, designated pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26. The Church called the following witnesses:

(i) David Schiff, AICP, of Saccardi & Schiff, the Church's planning consultant ("Church Planning Consultant Schiff"), see Trial Tr. at 61-319;
(ii) William Lachenauer, of Dolph Rotfeld Engineering, P.C., the Church's site engineering and hydrology consultant, see Trial Tr. at 325-504;
(iii) Phillip Grealy, Ph.D., P.E., of John Collins Engineering, P.C., the Church's traffic consultant ("Traffic Consultant Grealy"), see Trial Tr. at 526-877;
(iv) Anthony Russo, AKRF, Inc., former Planning Commissioner to the Town in connection with the Church's application ("Town Planning Commissioner Russo"), see Trial Tr. at 882-980;
(v) John Saccardi, AICP, of Saccardi & Schiff, a certified planner ("Church Planning Consultant Saccardi"), see Trial Tr. at 980-1041;
(vi) Stuart Turner, of Turner/Geneslaw, retained by the Town after close of the DEIS stage of SEQRA review to serve as a planning consultant in connection with the Church's application("Town Planning Consultant Turner"), see Trial Tr. at 1048-1552;
(vii) Plaintiff Reverend Dennis Karaman, Pastor of Fortress Bible Church, see Trial Tr. at 1577-1678; and
(viii) Vincent Vetrano, of Wolf & Company, Plaintiffs' designated expert on the increased costs of construction due to the Town's conduct, see Trial Tr. at 1715-65.

Plaintiffs did not present any rebuttal witnesses.

In addition, Plaintiffs designated, and this Court received into evidence, deposition testimony from the following witnesses 2:

(i) Defendant Eddie Mae Barnes, a Member of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh ("Councilwoman Barnes") 3;
(ii) Defendant Steven Bass, a Member of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh ("Councilman Bass");
(iii) Frederick Doneit, of Turner/Geneslaw, a planning consultant who assisted Town Planning Consultant Turner in connection with the Church's application ("Town Planning Consultant Doneit");
(iv) Defendant Paul Feiner, a Member of the Town Board and Supervisor of the Town of Greenburgh ("Supervisor Feiner");
(v) Allan Hochberg, a non-party witness who served as the President of the Poet's Corner Civic Association;
(vi) Gerry Iagallo, the Town Assessor for the Town of Greenburgh ("Town Assessor Iagallo");
(vii) Janet Insardi, the Deputy Town Attorney for the Town of Greenburgh ("Deputy Town Attorney Insardi");
(viii) Defendant Diana Juettner, a Member of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh ("Councilwoman Juettner");
(ix) John Kapica, the Chief of Police of the Town of Greenburgh ("Police Chief Kapica");
(x) Kevin Loyst, FPM Group, the Town's hydrology consultant ("Town Consultant Loyst");
(xi) John Lucido, the Building Inspector for the Town of Greenburgh ("Town Building Inspector Lucido");
(xii) Robert Mauro, the Chief of the Fairview Fire Department ("Fire Chief Mauro");
(xiii) Kevin Phillips, Ph.D., P.E., of FPM Group, the Town's hydrology consultant ("Town Consultant Phillips");
(xiv) Mark Stellato, the Commissioner of Planning for the Town of Greenburgh ("Town Planning Commissioner Stellato"); and(xv) Defendant Timmy Weinberg, a former Town Board Member ("Councilwoman Weinberg").

Defendants presented testimony at trial from the following sixteen fact witnesses:

(i) Alan Hochberg, see Trial Tr. at 1788-1835;
(ii) Blase Spinozzi, appointed Deputy Town Supervisor in connection with the Church's application, see Trial Tr. at 1837-81;
(iii) Councilwoman Weinberg, see Trial Tr. at 1882-1953;
(iv) Police Chief Kapica, see Trial Tr. at 1958-2004;
(v) Town Building Inspector Lucido, see Trial Tr. at 2006-17;
(vi) Fire Chief Mauro, see Trial Tr. at 2021-79;
(vii) Councilwoman Juettner, see Trial Tr. at 2084-2129;
(viii) Councilman Bass, see Trial Tr. at 2129-71;
(ix) Town Planning Consultant Doneit, see Trial Tr. at 2174-2300;
(x) Supervisor Feiner, see Trial Tr. at 2303-2423, 2426-2521, 2538-71;
(xi) Councilwoman Barnes, see Trial Tr. at 2575-2629;
(xii) Town Consultant Phillips, see Trial Tr. at 2638-2697, 2789-2829;
(xiii) Town Consultant Loyst, see Trial Tr. at 2700-88;
(xiv) Town Planning Commissioner Stellato, see Trial Tr. at 2837-2990, 3149-3236;
(xv) Deputy Town Attorney Insardi, see Trial Tr. at 2994-3146; and
(xvi) Michael Maris, the Town's traffic consultant ("Town Traffic Consultant Maris"), see Trial Tr. at 3249-3419.

Defendants did not designate or otherwise attempt to introduce testimony from any expert witness.

Over the course of the trial, the Court admitted more than three hundred exhibits into evidence, including joint exhibits and exhibits introduced by the respective parties. The Court also received a Statement of Stipulated Facts.

Following the trial, Plaintiffs submitted to the Court "Plaintiffs' Post-Trial Statement of Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law" ("Plaintiffs' Post-Trial Statement") and Defendants submitted "Defendants' Proposed Post Trial Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law" ("Defendants' Post-Trial Statement"). The Court also held oral arguments on the parties' post-trial submissions on July 30, 2007.

As set forth above, Plaintiffs and Defendants had a full and fair opportunity to present their cases to the Court. The Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law set forth below, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a), are based on the extensive record developed over the course of the bench trial.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a) provides, in relevant part, that in bench trials, the court "shall find the facts specially and state separately its conclusions of law thereon, and judgment shall be entered pursuant to Rule 58." Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a). Rule 52(a) further provides that such findings of fact, "whether based on oral or documentary evidence, shall not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge of the credibility of the witnesses." Id.

III. FINDINGS OF FACT
a. The Parties

i. Plaintiffs

1. Plaintiff Fortress Bible Church is a Pentecostal church. See Trial Tr. at1578:23-1579:5 (Karaman). Fortress Bible Church was established in the early 1940's and has been at its...

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