LA church demands discovery to defend against contempt for indoor services

LOS ANGELES -- A superior court judge scheduled a contempt hearing Friday after a 7,500-person megachurch defied a preliminary injunction by holding indoor services but church attorneys want discovery first to prove the injunction was unconstitutional, they say.

After Los Angeles County Judge Mitchell Beckloff issued the preliminary injunction in September, ordering Grace Community Church in Sun Valley to meet only outdoors, with social distancing and masks, the church continued to hold indoor services for up to 3,000 people at a time, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, singing and not wearing masks.

Charles LiMandri

Before Beckloff scheduled the contempt hearing for Jan. 15, Rancho Santa Fe attorney Charles LiMandri of the Thomas More Society said he needed the county to provide discovery so he could mount a defense for his clients, Grace Church and pastor John MacArthur, 81. LiMandri argued the county has a special animus toward religious institutions and its health orders are arbitrary and pernicious.

"We feel it is clearly discriminatory and targeting religious exercise. ...Discovery is needed to substantiate that defense," LiMandri said, appearing remotely before Beckloff, who also appeared remotely. "They are shutting down churches which have a First Amendment constitutional right to exercise freedom of religion. ... Ironically, just last week a superior court judge in San Diego found exotic dancing was a form of protected speech under the First Amendment and said the county can't stop people from attending indoor exotic dancing."

Beckloff, who had the opportunity to schedule the contempt hearing in September, elected to first hear arguments relating to the constitutionality of his own injunction. County of Los Angeles v. Grace Community Church of the Valley, 20STCV30695 (L.A. Super. Ct., led Aug. 14, 2020).

Amnon Z. Siegel

However, the county, represented by Amnon Z. Siegel of Miller Barondess LLP, said the church is trying to re-litigate issues already decided by the court when it issued the preliminary injunction and the church has no right to discovery in contempt proceedings.

"Defendants also argue that they should be permitted to conduct discovery to show the county is supposedly 'singling out' places of worship," Siegal wrote in a reply brief disputing the discovery requests. "The court already decided this issue as well, finding that the health order is generally applicable, does not restrict conduct specifically related to religious worship, and in fact, treats religious worship more favorably than similarly situated activities."

In another lawsuit filed in Kern County by a Catholic priest, Father Trevor Burfitt, LiMandri is seeking a preliminary injunction against Los Angeles and other counties to enjoin the enforcement of health orders restricting religious gatherings indoors. Father Trevor Burfitt v. Gavin Newsom, BCV-20-102267 (Kern Super. Ct., filed Sept. 29, 2020).

Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp denied LiMandri's motion Friday, which sought a temporary restraining order against Los Angeles and other counties from enforcing their health orders. Arguments relating to LiMandri's motion for a preliminary injunction will be heard Dec. 10.

Responding to a request for comment Friday, Los Angeles County issued the following statement: "While gatherings of people from many different households for extended periods of times are currently limited in the county even if they occur outdoors, religious services may be held both online and outdoors with physical distancing and the use of face coverings. The state and county health officer orders reflect the importance of religious worship, especially in these trying times, and we are grateful that the vast majority of the county's religious institutions continue to hold services with public health safeguards in place, protecting both congregants and the entire community."

The county and church have been trading court victories in this battle between religious constitutional rights and public health safety after the two sued each other following Gov. Gavin Newsom's order that churches halt services during the pandemic. Beckloff indicated in his ruling that constitutional concerns have not been fully tried yet, and reiterated that his prior ruling on the injunction was not a decision on the merits regarding the constitutionality of those orders, according to statement from the Thomas More Society.