In a complete victory for its clients, Simpson Thacher, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi secured a consent decree on January 3, 2022, mandating the approval of the construction of a mosque in Horn Lake, Mississippi. The consent decree resolves a federal lawsuit, Abraham House of God v. City of Horn Lake, filed against Horn Lake officials who unlawfully denied zoning approval for the proposed mosque due to anti-Muslim bias. Under the terms of the consent decree, the City of Horn Lake and the other Defendants have agreed to approve plans to permit construction of the first-ever mosque in DeSoto County, Mississippi.
ACLU, ACLU-MS and Simpson Thacher filed the federal lawsuit on November 3, 2021, on behalf of the mosque and its founders, noting that the City’s actions violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which provides heightened protections for houses of worship in zoning proceedings, and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The complaint asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi to issue an injunction allowing construction of the mosque.
Under the consent decree, in addition to approving the mosque’s site plan, which they previously rejected, Horn Lake officials must also act quickly in the future to address any other permitting and building-related matters. The order also provides that the Defendants will pay Plaintiffs $25,000 for expenses incurred in connection with the delay in construction and the initial appeal of the denial of the mosque-site application. Defendants must also separately pay for Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and costs associated with the federal lawsuit. The federal district court will have continuing jurisdiction over the action for a period of five years to facilitate the enforcement of the consent decree.
The Simpson Thacher team included Jonathan Youngwood, Janet Gochman, Avia Gridi, Christopher Kraft and Nihara Choudhri.
The team received a “Shout Out” in The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” coverage.
The case has also been covered by publications including the Associated Press, The Washington Post, Newsweek, The Hill, DeSoto Times Tribune, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Local Memphis, NBC Action News 5 , Fox 13 Memphis, DeSoto Count News, WREG, Law & Crime, Memphis Flyer and Washington Examiner.