The Becket Fund announced yesterday that it had filed suit in a New York federal district court on behalf of eleven Amish families challenging enforcement of Morristown, NY's building code provisions that infringe plaintiffs' religious beliefs. The complaint (full text) in Yoder v. Town of Morristown, (ND NY, filed 1/6/2009), alleges that he religious beliefs of the Swartzentruber Amish preclude them from submitting architect-stamped construction plans, from installing battery-powered smoke detectors, from equipping their houses with hurricane tie-downs and from frost protecting their homes' foundations. The complaint alleges that denying building permits to plaintiffs violates their free exercise, speech, assembly and equal protection rights under the U.S. and New York constitutions, as well as the federal Fair Housing Act and RLUIPA. Plaintiffs trace their problems to the actions of a new Code Enforcement Officer appointed in 2006, saying that prior to that they lived for many years in "peaceful co-existence" with the non-Amish Morristown residents. Yesterday's Watertown (NY) Daily Times reports on the filing of the case.
UPDATE: On Friday, a New York state trial judge ruled that two Amish families in Hammond (NY) can remain in their homes that were constructed without building permits while the federal challenge against Morristown is pending. The judge also ruled, however, that the town of Hammond cannot be liable for any death or injury involving the two families. (Watertown Daily Times, Jan. 10; WNYTV News, Jan. 9).
