The LaCrosse (WI) Tribune reports that a federal district court has rejected a claim by Asbury Methodist Church in LaCrosse that its due process and free exercise rights were infringed when it was denied a tax exemption in 2008 while its property was being converted from a tax exempt parsonage to a tax exempt hospitality house. Tax officials said that the house was vacant on Jan. 1, 2008 and so was not exempt for that year. At issue were $4000 in property taxes.
UPDATE: Here is the full text of the opinion on LEXIS: Asbury United Methodist Church v. City of La Crosse, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86744 (WD WI, Aug. 23, 2010).
