New Lawsuit Challenges County's Continued Denial of Water and Sewer Lines For Church

In March 2010, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Seventh Day Adventist Congregation's rights under the Equal Protection Clause and RLUIPA were infringed when Prince George's County, Maryland refused to grant a change in sewer and water classifications for a portion of property on which the congregation planned to build a church. The court affirmed a $3.7 million jury award to the church. (See prior posting.) Nevertheless, the county has continued to deny the church a water and sewer category change so it could extend water and sewer lines to its property.  County Commissioner Mary Lehman says that the proposed change could affect the capacity of a nearby reservoir.  So now, according to AP, the church has filed another lawsuit in federal district court again asserting that the county's conduct violates RLUIPA. The complaint (full text) in Reaching Hearts International, Inc. v. Prince George's County Maryland, (D MD, filed 7/18, 2011), claims that the denials stem from a "personal, discriminatory vendetta" against the church by former city councilman Thomas Dernoga, which he continued even after his council term ended in 2011. AP reports on the filing of the lawsuit.