Man vs HOA: Winning a legal fight over 200K Christmas lights
Dec 20, 2018, 1:10 PM | Updated: Dec 22, 2018, 7:37 am
Jeremy Morris enjoyed putting on an immense lighting display at his home around Christmas for years. But his festive spirit ran afoul of a homeowners association, leading to a rare win in court.
“Apparently this guy’s house is the closest thing to Clark Griswold’s house you are going to find,” said former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna. “…the pictures look pretty astounding, but it isn’t the lighting that is at the heart of this case. It’s the religious display and the program his family would put on at their home from 6-8 p.m., Monday through Friday. People would come and they would hear the story of Jesus. They would be given candy canes with a message about Jesus on them. It was an overtly religious program.”
Audiences would also be “taxed” by Romans to collect donations for local charities. There were live camels, singing carols, and hot cocoa.
But Morris moved and his new home was within the boundary of the West Hayden Estates Home Owners Association, in Hayden, Idaho, not far from Coeur d’Alene. That’s when things got tense. He told the HOA about what he does every December and the association didn’t seem to be too keen on the idea.
“They wrote several versions of a letter to members of the Morris family saying, ‘Look, you’re not welcome here if you are going to have a religious display at your home,” McKenna said. “They had members who were devout atheists. That didn’t come out initially. But during the course of litigation it was discovered that there were different versions of the letter that was ultimately sent to the family that essentially said the religious display is not welcome in our neighborhood.”
Morris went ahead anyway in 2014, and was soon experiencing threats and other harassment. Visitors to the display were also harassed and told to leave. But Morris happened to be what many HOAs consider their worst nightmare — a lawyer.
“Mr. Morris is a lawyer of some means and he brought lawsuit in federal court arguing that the homeowner’s association actions toward him amounts to religious discrimination under Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 … it’s also known as the fair housing act,” McKenna said.
That prohibits religious discrimination, even by private groups.
McKenna notes that this case is significant because it’s one of the first that the court ruled in favor of the homeowner. More often, the HOA wins because it establishes rules that homeowners know moving in. In this case, many HOAs have rules for lighting, but not temporary lighting, such as Christmas lights.
Morris was awarded $75,000 recently as the case came to a close. There are still lingering legal issues — the HOA also sued him over the live camels among the display, saying he violated livestock rules.
-
Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
