From Country Mill Farms, LLC. V. City of East Lansing, decided today by Judge Paul Maloney (W.D. Mich.):
The City of East Lansing requires vendors for its Farmer's Market to comply with the City's public policy against discrimination. Country Mill Farms offers to rent a portion of its property [which is not connected with the Farmer's Market] for weddings. Country Mill Farms, however, will not rent the property for same-sex weddings. Because of this general business practice, the City denied Country Mills Farm's vendor application for the 2017 East Lansing Farmers Market. Country Mill Farms and its owner, Stephen Tennes, sued….
The court noted that "Defendant's 2017 decision to deny Plaintiffs' application substantially burdened Plaintiffs' free exercise of religion":
