United States Ninth Circuit

In a civil rights suit against a city, claiming that leases of land by the city to the Desert Pacific Council, a nonprofit corporation chartered by the Boy Scouts of America, violate provisions of the California or federal Constitutions relating to the Establishment of Religion or the denial of Equal Protection of the Laws, judgment of the district court is: 1) reversed as to the grant of summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on their claim that the city violated the No Aid Clause of the California Constitution where a) the leases constitute, at most, indirect or incidental aid by the city for a religious purpose, and b) the aid does not otherwise violate the requirements established by the Supreme Court of California to avoid invalidity under the No Aid Clause; 2) reversed as to the grant of summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on their claims that the leases violate either the California No Preference Clause or the federal Establishment Clause; 3) affirmed as to the dismissal of plaintiffs' state and federal equal protection claims on the ground that the plaintiffs lacked standing to maintain those claims; and 4) affirmed as to the dismissal of plaintiffs' claims for violation of the San Diego Human Rights ordinance and for breach of contract.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/20/2012
• Published 12/20/2012

Judges

• Canby

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel