Chabad Lawsuit Resolved; Justice Probe Of Toms River Closed

TOMS RIVER, NJ — After months of mediation, a federal judge has issued a judgement order in a lawsuit filed by the Chabad Jewish Center against Toms River over zoning conflicts and use of the site for religious gatherings.

Rabbi Moshe Gourarie will be permitted to continue to hold religious gatherings at the Chabad's Church Road location, with certain stipulations, according to the order of judgment issued Feb. 5, 2018, by U.S. District Court Judge Freda Wolfson in Trenton. Toms River Township must pay $122,500 to cover the Chabad's attorneys' fees, and an investigation by the federal Department of Justice into the township's zoning practices has been dropped.

Toms River Assistant Township Attorney Anthony Merlino said the judgment to pay the attorneys' fees, which is mandated by federal law, avoided a potentially far more expensive judgment.

"This is a minimal amount when compared to the mid-seven-figure judgments in other municipalities in north Jersey ... who were ordered to pay millions of dollars in similar litigation," Merlino said. The $122,500 judgment was paid entirely through the township's insurance coverage, he said.

Bernards Township was ordered to pay $3.25 million in damages after it was sued for denying an application for construction of a mosque and for changing zoning rules after the application was filed by the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge. (RELATED: Mosque Will Be Built In Basking Ridge, Town Must Pay $3.25M)

"Although the facts of that case were far more egregious, they reflect the current trend in this type of litigation which is not favorable to municipalities," Merlino said. "Protracted litigation would have potentially left the township without insurance coverage and exposed (it) to a much larger fee award, with a devastating budgetary impact."

"This matter was also complicated by the considerable social media chatter about the issue," Merlino said, "which created a presumption that the proceedings before the zoning board were tainted. Anyone who made or read those social media posts would have been subject to deposition or subpoena as part of the litigation to determine the extent, if any, they influenced the decisions challenged in this case. That was also a contributing factor to the judgment against the township."

The Chabad and Gourarie filed the lawsuit in March 2016, following a tumultous Toms River Board of Adjustment meeting in the December 2015 where the zoning board said the Chabad needed a use variance to hold religious services at the Church Road property. Gourarie, who is president of the Chabad, has lived there with his family since the Chabad purchased the property in 2011.

The lawsuit accused Toms River officials and the zoning board of violating the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA") and the Fair Housing Act, as well as violations of First and 14th Amendments. It also accused the officials of being influenced by what the suit labeled "a rising tide of anti-Semitism" in the township,

Wolfson, in her order, agreed that the zoning board violated the religious rights of the Chabad:

"The BOA’s decision denying Plaintiffs’ appeal ofthe application to use the subject property as a Chabad house is determined to be a violation of RLUIPA, the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604, the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution."

And while Wolfson did not address public commentary in the judgment order, Merlino said social media conversations played a role in the judgment against the township.

"Like the North Jersey cases, this matter was also complicated by the considerable social media chatter about the issue, which created a presumption that the proceedings before the zoning board were tainted," Merlino said. "Anyone who made or read those social media posts would have been subject to deposition or subpoena as part of the litigation to determine the extent, if any, they influenced the decisions challenged in this case."

RELATED: Chabad Suit Claims 'Rising Tide Of Anti-Semitism' Influenced Toms River Zoners

The lawsuit and religious discrimination accusations also prompted an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice of Toms River's zoning practices and rulings. That investigation was closed as a result of the settlement.

"In light of the resolution of that lawsuit and other doucments and information provided by the township, and after considering the relevant facts and applicable law, we have decided not to take enforcement action pursuant to RLUIPA against the township. Consequently, we have closed the investigation," wrote Nicole Siegel, an attorney in the Justice Department's Housing and Civil Enforcement, in a March 26 letter to the township.

Wolfson's order dismissed a list of code enforcement violations issued by Toms River against Gourarie and the Chabad, and sets out the following limitations on the Chabad's activities:

There will be a maximum of 35 individuals for events held at the property, with that limit expanded to 49 people "for six specific holidays per year which are the following: Sukkot, Simchas Torah, PesachlPassover, Purim, Lag b’omer, and Shavuot."

Those limits do not include Gourarie's family members and do not apply to family events held at the property.

Events that would exceed those limits must be held off-site.

Gourarie and the Chabad must tell any guests of the Chabad house that there is no parking to be allowed on Church Road.

A sign will be permitted on the property for the Chabad; the sign must comply "with the existing bulk ordinance for signage in the Township ordinances."

Read the judgment and the letter from the Justice Department below:

Department of Justice Letter To Toms River by Karen Wall on Scribd

Chabad Jewish Center vs Toms River judgment by Karen Wall on Scribd

Note: This article has been updated to correct that this was not a settlement but a judgment against Toms River.

Rabbi Moshe Gourarie speaks to the Toms River Board of Adjustment in December 2015. Photo by Karen Wall, Patch staff