San Jose Christian College, which was founded in the 1930s, has been looking for ways to accomodate its growing student body in recent years. On June 16, 2000, it bought the former St. Louise Hospital in Morgan Hill, California from Catholic Healthcare West and began preparing to move the college from San Jose to Morgan Hill. The hospital had been closed in December, 1999, and the purchase agreement contained a deed restriction barring use of the facility as a hospital. But on February 21, 2000, the Morgan Hill City Council voted 4-1 to deny a zoning change from hospital use to educational use. Despite the fact that a study conducted by a San Francisco consulting firm (and paid for by the city) found that a hospital would not be needed in Morgan Hill for at least 15-20 years, council members refused to acknowledge that operation of a full-service hospital in the community is not feasible.
A RLUIPA lawsuit was filed against the City of Morgan Hill in September, 2001, seeking "injunctive relief, declaratory judgment, and damages, both nominal and compensatory." In January 2002 the City of Morgan Hill filed a motion for summary judgment. On February 6, 2002, San Jose Christian filed a memorandum in opposition to the motion. A hearing on the motion was held in the court of Judge Ronald M Whyte in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on February 22. In an order signed on March 5, 2002, Judge Whyte granted defendant's motion for summary judgment.
San Jose Christian filed a notice of appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on April 4, 2002.
On August 28, 2002, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed an amicus curiae brief with the 9th Circuit on behalf of itself and an extraordinary array of religious groups, including the American Jewish Congress, the Christian Legal Society, Civil Liberties for Urban Believers, Congregation Etz Chaim, the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Hale O Kaula church, the Missionaries of Charity (Brothers), Redwood Christian Schools and the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission. (Many of these groups have brought actions under RLUIPA, and links to their case descriptions are provided above)
The Becket Fund brief asks the appeals court to reverse the lower court because it incorrectly interpreted Supreme Court case law in the area, especially when it declared that "zoning laws are generally applicable laws and are subject to rational basis review when challenged under the Free Exercise Clause." In fact, the Becket Fund argues, "there are at least three independent and sufficient reasons why a higher level of scrutiny may apply." In fact, it is clear that "given the extremely discretionary processes involved in most zoning decisions," they typically are not "generally applicable," but rather are the result of individualized assessments that trigger strict scrutiny.
Amicus briefs were also submitted to the court by the American Planning Association, which has attacked the constitutionality of RLUIPA in other cases as well, and by Alameda County, which is defending itself against a RLUIPA lawsuit filed by The Becket Fund on behalf of Redwood Christian Schools.
Oral arguments were held before a panel (Judges Canby, Kleinfeld and Rawlinson) of the 9th Circuit on May 14, 2003. Attorney John Dodd argued on behalf of the Pacific Justice Institute and San Jose Christian College.
San Jose Christian College is represented by the Pacific Justice Institute. (San Jose Christian College v. City of Morgan Hill, Case No. #CV-01-20857-RMW (PVT), Appeal No. 02-15693)