Federal Court Removal Denied For Counterclaims In Yeshiva Housing Case

In Village of Chestnut Ridge v. Town of Ramapo, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76881 (SDNY, Sept. 30, 2008), a New York federal district court rejected an attempt by defendant alleging RLUIPA and Fair Housing Act counterclaims to remove a case from New York state courts to federal court. The original lawsuit included 14th Amendment and Establishment Clause challenges to a zoning law enacted by the town of Ramapo that would allow high density adult student housing to be built in a residential area by Orthodox Jewish educational institutions. The court held that the attempt by defendant to remove the case to federal court was not timely because in fact the land at issue had been secretly transferred to the defendant seeking removal early in the litigation, and defendant should have become a party at that time. The court went on to hold that even if removal was timely, it should not be permitted because there were no federal claims alleged that justified removal. (See prior related posting.)