Judge rules on claims in Bullskin church’s suit
?A federal judge dismissed some plaintiffs and counts of a lawsuit filed against Fayette County and various officials on behalf of a Bullskin Township church that bases its worship in music.
The ruling deals with the suit filed by the Church of Universal Love and Music, its founder, Willie Pritts, and 14 others. The lawsuit names the county, its drug task force, officers Autumn Fike and Ryan Reese, Assistant District Attorney Mark D. Brooks and former district attorney Nancy D. Vernon, who is now a sitting judge in Fayette County.
The lawsuit claimed that the defendants violated the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs during an Aug. 1, 2009 drug raid on church property.
That raid resulted in several arrests, however, none of the 22 people charged criminally were parties to the civil lawsuit.
A church attorney alleged the raid was “violent and illegal” and violated a settlement in a prior federal lawsuit.
Pritts filed a suit in 2006, contending that county officials were hampering the religious freedoms of the church and its congregants. That suit was settled, and Pritts was allowed to have a specified number of concerts.
Part of the settlement agreement precluded the church from having illegal drug use on the property.
Ultimately, Pritts agreed to a permanent injunction barring the church from having any concerts.
Senior U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose dismissed claims of malicious prosecution brought by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, noting that they “cannot maintain a malicious prosecution claim if criminal proceedings were never instituted against them.”
Ambrose likewise dismissed a claim of tortious interference, where Pritts claimed that county officials blocked a deal to sell the church property. The judge noted that there was no evidence presented that there was a contract for the sale of the property.
The 10-page ruling also dismissed Vernon and Brooks as defendants to the lawsuit, noting that there were no specific allegations that would support the filing against them.
The jurist kept the claims of unreasonable search and seizure, and alleged violations of the right to free speech and religion.
An attorney for Fayette County argued that the suit should be dismissed because many of the claims are based on the constitutionality of an “all persons present” search warrant, and the validity of that warrant was unsuccessfully challenged in criminal court.
The people who challenged the warrant were charged in the raid.
Ambrose rejected the argument, noting that the people who challenged the warrant were not plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit.
An “all persons present” warrant allows for a search of all people present in a particular place. A Fayette County judge issued the warrant, which covered all of the church ground, over 40 acres.
Additionally, Ambrose dismissed six of the plaintiffs from the suit. She noted that Anthony Keffer of Connellsville only saw police enter the church property and John Ulstead of Independence, W.Va., only claimed to have witnessed profanity and threats made toward others.
She dismissed them and Anthony Pritts of Acme, Gerald Fagert of Greensburg, and Jacob and Kelly Garletts, both of Robinson. Ambrose found there were no individual accusations presented on their behalves to justify the lawsuit.
The remaining plaintiffs are the church, Willie Pritts of Acme, Jim Stephens of Smock, Kimberlye Keffer and Ashlye Keffer, all of Connellsville, Ken Whipkey of Connellsville, Monica Write of Grantsville, Daniel Miller of Acme, Don Hanlon of Pittsburgh and Jon Hendricks, no address listed.
Though Ambrose dismissed some of the plaintiffs and counts of the suit, she gave an attorney for the church 10 days to file an amended complaint. If accusations in the amended complaint support the suit, the judge can reinstate the dismissed plaintiffs.