Supreme Court of the United States Declines to Hear Bloomington Zoning Case

Micah E. Kamrass, Fraternal Law Partners, MKamrass@Manleyburke.com

In the September 2021 Edition of Fraternal Law, we reported that UJ-Eighty Corp., a fraternity house corporation that owns property in Bloomington, Indiana, petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to grant certiorari and hear an appeal of the disappointing decision from the Indiana Supreme Court in City of Bloomington Board of Zoning Appeals v UJ-Eighty Corp.[1] In that decision, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed a decision where the court of appeals previously held that the definition of fraternity house in Bloomington’s zoning ordinance was unconstitutional.  

            As they do with the overwhelming majority of petitions for certiorari, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case. Since the issue of fraternity house zoning has recently been litigated in numerous states including Delaware, New Hampshire, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, there was hope that the Supreme Court of the United States may view the UJ-Eighty case as one of significant enough national importance. Since that did not occur, it is likely that this issue will continue to be litigated in different states throughout the country over the coming years.

[1] Micah E. Kamrass, Fraternity House Corporation Seeks Writ of Certiorari From the Supreme Court of the United States in Bloomington Zoning Case, 171 Fraternal L. 1 (Sept. 2021).