Contact: press@ccrjustice.org
January 24, 2019, Bergen County –
Today, a New Jersey court dismissed an attempt by Thomas Powers, a
member of the Ramapo Hunt & Polo Club homeowners’ association, to
dismantle a settlement reached last year between the Ramapough Lenape
Nation and the Township of Mahwah regarding the Ramapough’s use of their
land. The settlement followed years of harassment, including litigation
and heavy fines, by Mahwah and the Hunt & Polo Club against the
Ramapough for religious gatherings on land they own, which abuts the
Hunt & Polo Club property. The club declined to join the settlement
agreement and went to trial. They lost, and the court dismissed the Hunt
& Polo Club’s case in its entirety. Mr. Powers then filed a pro se
action (on his own behalf, without counsel) seeking to dismantle the
settlement between the Ramapough and the township. Following an argument
today, the court dismissed Powers’ case in its entirety.
“We
are pleased with the ruling, and look forward to better relations with
our neighbors at the Hunt & Polo Club,” said a representative of the
Ramapough Lenape Nation.
Since 2016, the Township
of Mahwah and members of the Ramapo Hunt & Polo Club had harassed
the Ramapough Lenape Nation in an effort to force the Ramapough to stop
religious practice on their own land. Under pressure from the Hunt &
Polo Club, Mahwah levied thousands of summonses and over $1 million in
fines against the Ramapough for holding religious ceremonies and placing
a stone altar and prayer circle on the land. Both Mahwah and the Hunt
& Polo Club also filed several lawsuits against the Ramapough,
including one in which they sought to prevent the Ramapough from praying
and gathering on their land. Following years of this harassment, the
Ramapough countersued Mahwah and the Hunt & Polo Club in federal
court for racial and religious discrimination. The settlement Mr. Powers
sought to unravel—which the Hunt & Polo Club refused to sign,
instead opting to go to trial—dropped all fines and settled all civil
litigation between the Mahwah and the Ramapough.
“Mr.
Powers raised the same issues a court already considered and rejected
after a full trial. Filing yet another lawsuit seeking to infringe on
the Ramapough’s right to religious practice was pure harassment. The
court was right to dismiss the case and prohibit Powers from filing
again,” said Center for Constitutional Rights Bertha Justice Fellow Brittany Thomas, who argued today.
The
judge ruled from the bench immediately following arguments this
afternoon. He called Mr. Powers’ claims that his constitutional rights
had been violated “totally specious” and admonished him that the 2019
court ruling against the Hunt & Polo Club barred any “disgruntled
Polo Club members” from future litigation.
Before
finalizing the settlement agreement that the Hunt & Polo Club
refused to join, Mahwah held a public meeting where Hunt & Polo Club
residents, including Mr. Powers, spoke and provided comments on the
proposed settlement. At that meeting, Mr. Powers raised the issues
contained in his subsequent lawsuit, which were also raised—and rejected
by the court—at trial. The Hunt & Polo Club did not appeal its loss
at trial. In his pro se lawsuit, Powers argued that the settlement
violated (unspecified) municipal ordinances and constitutes
impermissible zoning, that a potential driveway allowed under the
settlement would constitute a safety hazard, and also asked that the
“unsafe” driveway be moved to a different road within the neighborhood
that he does not live on. Attorneys say that Mr. Powers’ interpretation
of the ordinances that he claims were violated would itself violate
Constitutional protections for religious liberty.
For more information, visit the Center for Constitutional Rights’ case page.
The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org.
