Summary judgment for a municipality sued as the result of a zoning dispute with a landowner

MARSHALL WALL (Raleigh) won summary judgment for a municipality sued as the result of a zoning dispute with a landowner.  The landowner, a trust, wanted to put a church into a commercial property that it owned, but the property was not zoned for church use.  The trust sued, claiming violations of the United States Constitution and North Carolina Constitution, as well as the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act “RLUIPA.”  After the case was removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the municipality prevailed on summary judgment as to all claims except the appeal of the zoning decision by its board of adjustment.  The zoning decision was then affirmed by a state court judge.  The landowner was represented by counsel.