UNIVERSAL LIFE CHURCH MONASTERY STOREHOUSE, a Washington non-profit corporation; ERIN PATTERSON and GABRIEL BISER, individuals v. WAYNE NABORS, in his official capacity as County Clerk of Putnam County, Tennessee (21-5059/5100); et al; BILL LEE, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Tennessee - Articles

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UNIVERSAL LIFE CHURCH MONASTERY STOREHOUSE, a Washington non-profit corporation; ERIN PATTERSON and GABRIEL BISER, individuals v. WAYNE NABORS, in his official capacity as County Clerk of Putnam County, Tennessee (21-5059/5100); et al; BILL LEE, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Tennessee

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on May 27, 2022

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Matthew D. Cloutier, OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Nashville, Tennessee, for Herbert H. Slatery III, et al.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Lisa M. Carson, BUERGER, MOSELEY & CARSON, PLC, Franklin, Tennessee, for Elaine Anderson.

Attorneys 3: ARGUED and ON BRIEF: Jeffrey G. Jones, WIMBERLY LAWSON WRIGHT DAVES & JONES, PLLC, Cookeville, Tennessee, for Wayne Nabors.

Attorneys 4: ARGUED: Ambika K. Doran, DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP, Seattle, Washington, for Universal Life Church Monastery Storehouse, et al.

Attorneys 5: ON BRIEF: Matthew D. Cloutier, Leslie Ann Bridges, Steven A. Hart, OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Nashville, Tennessee, for Herbert H. Slatery III, et al. and Bill Lee.

Attorneys 6: ON BRIEF: Lisa M. Carson, Lee Ann Thompson, BUERGER, MOSELEY & CARSON, PLC, Franklin, Tennessee, for Elaine Anderson.

Attorneys 7: ON BRIEF: Ambika K. Doran, Bruce E.H. Johnson, Robert E. Miller, DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP, Seattle, Washington, Rocklan W. King III, ADAMS AND REESE LLP, Nashville, Tennessee, Lucian T. Pera, ADAMS AND REESE LLP, Memphis, Tennessee, for Universal Life Church Monastery Storehouse, et al.

Attorneys 8: ON BRIEF: Nicholas C. Christiansen, Daniel W. Ames, HUDSON, REED & CHRISTIANSEN, PLLC, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for Lisa Crowell. Rheubin M. Taylor, Mary Neill Southerland, Sharon McMullan Milling, HAMILTON COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for William F. Knowles.

Judge(s): SUTTON, Chief Judge; STRANCH and BUSH, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee at Cookeville

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Universal Life Church Monastery (“ULC”) permits anyone who feels so called to become ordained as a minister—over the Internet, free of charge, and in a matter of minutes. Should the newly minted minister wish to solemnize a marriage in Tennessee, however, she will encounter a problem. Tennessee law permits only those “regular” ministers—ministers whose ordination occurred “by a considered, deliberate, and responsible act”—“to solemnize the rite of matrimony.” Tenn. Code Ann. (“TCA”) § 36-3-301(a)(1)–(2). And since 2019, the law has explicitly clarified that “[p]ersons receiving online ordinations may not solemnize the rite.” Id. § 36-3-301(a)(2).

Asserting that those restrictions violate the federal and Tennessee constitutions, ULC and various of its members sued several Tennessee officials to pursue an injunction and declaratory judgment. Yet the officials contend that they have sovereign immunity from suit and that, in any event, plaintiffs lack standing to sue. The district court rejected those contentions by and large, entering a preliminary injunction against several defendants. We are now asked to take up the same questions and reverse the district court. And, indeed, we hold that many of plaintiffs’ claims must be dismissed for lack of standing. But we also hold that as to the remaining claims presenting a live case or controversy, the district court properly denied sovereign immunity. We will thus remand a narrow portion of plaintiffs’ suit for further proceedings below.

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