Amistad Christiana Church v. Life is Beautiful, LLC
Amistad Christiana Church v. Life is Beautiful, LLC
Opinion of the Court
Order On Motions to Dismiss and Preliminary Injunction
A three-day art, music, culinary, and learning festival called “Life is Beautiful” will be held in downtown Las Vegas on the weekend of September 25-27, 2015. Based on its experience with the festival in
As part of that suit, Amistad seeks an injunction barring Life is Beautiful from holding performances on two specific stages while church services are being held. In the alternative, Amistad requests that I at least force defendants to (1) put in place “mature noise buffers” to prevent the music from its stages from drowning out Amistad’s services dr (2) come up with some other method to achieve this end.
Defendants move to dismiss the suit on the grounds that Amistad has not alleged a viable constitutional claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or a viable nuisance claim under Nevada law. They also oppose Amistad’s request for a preliminary junction, arguing, among other things, that Amistad is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its claims.
I. BACKGROUND
The Amistad Christiana Church is located at 901 Stewart Avenue in downtown Las Vegas.
Amistad is worried that it will not be able to hold these services the weekend of September 25-27, 2015 when the Life is Beautiful festival will in many ways take over downtown. The festival, for which the City of Las Vegas issued a special-event licensing permit, spreads across 11 city blocks, attracts scores of thousands of people, and showcases 70 musical acts on 4 different stages, including Stevie Wonder, Duran Duran, and Twenty One Pilots.
Two of these stages are located near Amistad. The noise from those stages is allegedly loud enough to “disrupt the ability of [Amistad] to conduct normal workshop services.”
The parties tried to work out a mutual accommodation. They agreed to three provisions: (1) defendants will provide security guards to patrol around Amistad during the weekend, (2) defendants will tell their employees not to blare radio music on the golf carts they drive from site to site, and (3) Amistad will begin its Sunday morning service at 9:00 a.m. instead of 10:00 a.m. so that it can finish before noon, when the festival’s sound-checks start.
Amistad requested additional accommodations, including not having any Saturday and Sunday night performances from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on the two stages near Amistad.
Defendants separately move to dismiss Amistad’s complaint on the grounds that it does not state a claim on which relief can be granted.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
A properly pleaded complaint must provide a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
District courts must apply a two-step approach when considering motions to dismiss.
III. ANALYSIS
A. Amistad’s § 1983 Claim Against Life is Beautiful
A § 1983 claim can be brought only against a state actor.
Amistad has not alleged facts showing that these four factors are present in this case. There are no facts in the complaint alleging that state officials dominate Life is Beautiful’s decision making, that its funds are generated by state institutions, or that it is acting in lieu of a traditional state actor. Rather, Life is Beautiful appears to be very similar to the festival organization the Ninth Circuit held was not a state actor in Villegas v. Gilroy Garlic Festival.
By that same logic, I conclude that Life is Beautiful is not a state actor and thus cannot be sued under § 1983. Even if Life is Beautiful were a state actor, Amis-tad’s § 1983 claim against it would fail for the same reasons set forth below regarding its § 1983 claim against the City: there is nothing in the complaint to indicate that Life is Beautiful has taken any action to prohibit, regulate, or coerce Am-istad’s religious beliefs or practices. Am-istad’s § 1983 claim against Life is Beautiful is therefore dismissed with prejudice.
B. Amistad’s § 1983 Claim Against the City of Las Vegas
Amistad’s § 1983 claim against the City is defective because the City has taken no action to prohibit, regulate, or coerce Amistad’s religious beliefs or practices.
“The Free Exercise Clause simply cannot be understood to require the Government to conduct its own internal affairs in ways that comport with the religious beliefs of particular citizens.”
The Ninth Circuit addressed similar issues in San Jose Christian College v. City of Morgan Hill,
It also found that the college had not asserted a colorable claim that the city’s application of the zoning laws abridged the college’s freedom of speech. “The record reflects no indication that the City’s action was motivated by the City’s disdain of [the college’s] religious orientation,” it explained, “or by the message to be communicated to the students/parishioners at the
San Jose was decided at the summary judgment stage, but it is nevertheless instructive here. Amistad alleges no facts that it was “targeted on the basis of religion for varying treatment” or that the City’s decision to issue Life is Beautiful a permit was “motivated by the City’s disdain of [Amistad’s] religious orientation, or the message to be communicated to [its parishioners].” Instead, the permit appears to be a neutral law of general applicability, which means it “need not be justified by a compelling governmental interest even if the law incidentally burdens a particular religious group.”
There is no allegation in Amistad’s complaint that the permit selectively burdens Amistad. To the contrary, numerous downtown property owners apparently are affected, as illustrated by the many letters Amistad submitted.
C. Amistad’s Nuisance Claim Against Life is Beautiful
To sustain its claim for private nuisance, Amistad must allege that the interference caused by the festival is both substantial and unreasonable.
To support its allegation that the interference caused by the festival is substantial, Amistad primarily contends that the festival “impinges on activities specifically protected by the United States Constitution — freedom of expression and the free exercise of religion.”
I therefore dismiss Amistad’s nuisance claim against Life is Beautiful because it has not alleged facts to support a finding that the interference caused by the festival is substantial. I do so, however, without prejudice. Given the collection of complaint letters Amistad attached to its oppo
D. Amistad’s Nuisance Claim Against the City of Las Vegas
The City’s consideration of nuisance issues is a discretionary function.
E. Preliminary Injunction
To qualify for a preliminary injunction, Amistad must demonstrate: (1) a likelihood of success on the merits, (2) a likelihood of irreparable harm, (3) the balance of hardships favors the plaintiff, and (4) an injunction is in the public interest.
Amistad has not carried that burden here. In particular, it has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits, particularly given that I have determined that Amistad’s constitutional and nuisance claims fail.
IV. CONCLUSION
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the motions to dismiss (Dkt. ## 8,12) are GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Am-istad’s motion for preliminary injunction (Dkt. # 11) is DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, because I have dismissed all of plaintiffs claims and would not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over any reasserted state law nuisance claims, the clerk of the court
. (Dkt. #11 at 2.)
. (Dkt. # 1 at ¶ 19.)
. {Id. ¶¶ 7, 8.)
. {Id. ¶ 9.)
. {Id. at ¶ 19.)
. {Id. at ¶ 17.)
. {Id. at ¶ 17.)
. (Dkt. # 1-1 at 2.)
.(Dkt. # 1 at 4.)
. (Dkt. # 1 at 4-7.)
. (Id. at 7.) The Life is Beautiful 2015 schedule does not list stages called Amazon or Llama, http://lifeisbeautiful.com/schedule/.
. (Id.)
. (See Dkt. ## 8, 12.)
. (Dkt. # 12 at 3-5.)
. (Dkt. # 8 at 4.)
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2); Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007).
. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).
. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955.
. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 696, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
. Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.
. Id.; Brown v. Elec. Arts, Inc., 724 F.3d 1235, 1247-48 (9th Cir. 2013).
. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937; Brown, 724 F.3d at 1248.
. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.
. Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.
. Id. at 663, 129 S.Ct 1937.
. Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955.
. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.
. Nowhere in its complaint does Amistad allege that Life is Beautiful is a state actor. In fact, it explicitly identifies Life is Beautiful as a limited liability company. (See Dkt. # 1 at ¶ 6.) In its motion to dismiss, Life is Beautiful raises the issue of it not being a state actor and therefore not being subject to liability under § 1983. District courts are typically not allowed to consider evidence outside the pleadings without converting a motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b); Parrino v. FHP, Inc., 146 F.3d 699, 706 n. 4 (9th Cir. 1998). But “[e]ven if a document is not attached to a complaint, it may be incorporated by reference into a complaint if the plaintiffs refers extensively to the document or the document forms the basis of the plaintiff's claim.” In re Silicon Graphics Secs. Litig., 183 F.3d 970, 986 (9th Cir. 1999). Because Amistad’s constitutional claim against Life is Beautiful depends on that private entity being a state actor, it is fair for me to consult outside documents regarding Life is Beautiful's status.
. Villegas v. Gilroy Garlic Festival Ass’n, 541 F.3d 950, 954 (9th Cir. 2008) (quotations omitted).
. Id. at 955.
.541 F.3d 950 (9th Cir.2008.)
. Id. at 955.
. This reason also applies to Amistad's § 1983 claim against Life is Beautiful.
. Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Ass’n 485 U.S. 439, 108 S.Ct. 1319, 99 L.Ed.2d 534 (1988) (quoting Bowen v. Roy, 476 U.S. 693, 699-700, 106 S.Ct. 2147, 90 L.Ed.2d 735 (1986)).
. 485 U.S. 439, 108 S.Ct. 1319, 99 L.Ed.2d 534 (1988).
. Id. at 449, 108 S.Ct. 1319.
. Id.
. 360 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2004).
. Id.
. Id. at 1032.
. Id.
. Church of Lukumi Bahalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 113 S.Ct. 2217, 124 L.Ed.2d 472 (1993).
. (See Dkt. #22-1.) Because these letters were not attached to Amistad’s complaint, I cannot consider them in ruling on the motion to dismiss. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b); Parrino, 146 F.3d at 706 n. 4. However, I can consider them in connection with evaluating the motion for preliminary injunction.
. Sowers v. Forest Hills Subdivision, - Nev. -, -, 294 P.3d 427, 432 (Nev. 2013).
. Id.
. Id.
. Id.
. (Dkt. # 1 at ¶ 32.)
. See Sowers, 294 P.3d at 432 (finding that a noise from a wind turbine constitute substantial interference because it would "change the character of the neighborhood plaintiffs sought to live in”).
. Ransdell v. Clark County, 124 Nev. 847, 858, 192 P.3d 756 (2008).
. Id.
. See Davis v. City of Las Vegas, 478 F.3d 1048, 1059 (9th Cir. 2007) (noting that when a state actor's "actions are attributable to bad faith, immunity does not apply whether an act is discretionary or not”).
. Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20, 129 S.Ct. 365, 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008).
. Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1135 (9th Cir. 2011).
. Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968, 972, 117 S.Ct. 1865, 138 L.Ed.2d 162 (1997) (quotation and emphasis omitted).
. See Garcia v. Google, Inc., 786 F.3d 733, 740 (9th Cir. 2015) ("The first factor under Winter is the most important — likely success on the merits.”)
Reference
- Full Case Name
- AMISTAD CHRISTIANA CHURCH Pastor Joel H. Menchaca Pastor Joleda Day v. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, LLC City of Las Vegas, Nevada Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman Councilmembers: Rikki Y. Barlow Steven D. Ross Lois Tarkanian Bob Beers Bob Coffin and Stavros R. Anthony
- Status
- Published