(CANTON, MI, 4/19/2023)– The Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic relations (CAIR-MI) today welcomed Judge Kuhnke’s order allowing Superior Lawn Care & Snow Removal, LLC’s Equal Protection Claim against Pittsfield Township to go forward. Trial is currently scheduled for early May 2023.
CAIR-MI also filed a claim of appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn the dismissal of Superior Lawn Care’s claims for a violation of the due process rights and claim for damages.
“Superior Lawn Care & Snow Removal provides essential services to businesses, schools and homeowners in and around Washtenaw County Michigan and should not be at risk of losing its business based on the owner’s national origin or religion,” said CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy V. Doukoure. “It is a shame that Pittsfield Township still faces concerns over whether it is applying their zoning laws fairly to American Muslims.”
“No small business owner who is acting in good faith should be threatened with losing their livelihood and the livelihood of all their employees simply because of their religion or ethnic identity,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.
BACKGROUND:
Superior Lawn Care is owned and operated by an Arab-American Muslim of Palestinian descent and employs more than forty full and part-time employees. In 2021, Pittsfield Township revoked Superior Lawn Care’s CUP despite the company’s insistence that it was in compliance with the terms of the CUP and the Township’s municipal ordinances.
In November 2022, CAIR-MI joined ongoing litigation between Superior Lawn Care and Pittsfield Township and called on the Department of Justice to investigate the actions of the Township in revoking the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) of Superior Lawn Care for the operation of a commercial landscape yard.
SEE: CAIR-MI Joins lawsuit against Pittsfield Township for discriminatory zoning enforcement requests DOJ Probe
CAIR-MI had previously been involved in litigation against Pittsfield Township for its discriminatory zoning practices involving the denial of a Special Use Permit (SUP) to open an Islamic School. That lawsuit involved allegations that Islamophobic and Anti-Arab comments were made during Planning Commission Meetings.
SEE: Zoning request denial for Islamic school prompts lawsuit in Pittsfield Township
SEE ALSO: Updated: Justice Department lawsuit over Islamic school in Washtenaw County settled
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2016/09/pittsfield_township_trustees_v.html
Early in March of this year, Pittsfield Township filed a motion in the Washtenaw Circuit Court to dismiss Superior Lawn Care’s case against them. During the hearing Judge Kuhnke dismissed Superior Lawn Care’s claim for due process but found that there was enough evidence that Superior Lawn Care had been treated differently than a different landscape yard that was owned by someone not an Arab American Muslim of Palestinian descent.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization
Their mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims
– END –
CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, (248) 842-1418, [email protected]; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney, Amy V. Doukoure (586) 943-8823, [email protected]