An Orthodox Jewish homeowner in Ohio is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to revive his lawsuit after he says city officials targeted him for trying to host a prayer gathering in his home.
Daniel Grand said he invited about a dozen friends to join him for prayer at his home in University Heights in January 2021. After a neighbor learned of the planned gathering and complained to city officials, Grand received a cease-and-desist letter, and then-Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan told him he would need a special-use permit to comply with local zoning rules governing religious assemblies.
Grand initially applied for the permit in an effort to comply before he fully understood what the city was requiring. He later learned that the permit was designed for his property to operate as a house of worship and carried requirements including three acres of land, parking accommodations and other conditions. According to Grand, obtaining the permit would have converted his home into a nonresidential property, meaning he could no longer live there.
“Basically, the city knew what they were doing,” Grand said. “They tricked me. I felt like they lied to me, actually. And I simply tried to comply. So the next day, trying to be a good Samaritan, if you will, I went ahead, and I followed their advice that they gave me in that cease and desist letter, thinking I would just be able to have this permit. And it opened up into a very large scale negative event.”
After realizing what the permit would require, Grand withdrew his application. He alleges Brennan encouraged neighbors to report activity at his home and that police conducted frequent drive-bys. Grand also alleges city services stopped collecting his trash for several weeks and that officials threatened him with “bogus” property violations in an effort to build a case against him.
Grand argues the city discriminated against him based on religion, saying officials would not have objected to a secular social gathering at his home.
“It’s just absurd,” Grand said. “I live here. It’s my house. It’s still my house… whether they’re reading Oprah Book Club of the month or a Bible, the Oprah Book Club is fine, but the Bible is a problem, according to that mayor of University Heights,” he said.
Grand filed a federal lawsuit in 2022. However, a federal district court and a subsequent appeals court dismissed key portions of the case as unripe, ruling that he had not completed the city’s permitting process or obtained a final zoning decision before suing.
Grand’s attorneys, including lawyers with Alliance Defending Freedom, argue he should not have needed a permit to host a small prayer gathering in his home.
The city, now under the leadership of Mayor Michele Weiss, argued that Grand abandoned the local permit process before officials could issue a final decision and that he was later informed he could host the prayer gathering without a permit.
“Mr. Grand presented to the City Planning Commission during the previous administration,” the city said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “After a public hearing and comment, the Commission tabled the matter for further proceedings. During this time, Mr. Grand withdrew his application. Soon thereafter, he then filed a lawsuit.”
“Subsequently, the City sent Mr. Grand legal correspondence which stated that he was able to pray with a small group (a minyan) in his home WITHOUT going through the Planning Commission process,” the statement continued.