Entertainment Lane v. City of Salinas CA4/3

INTRODUCTION

Entertainment Lane, Inc. (ELI) and Anthony Lane own the Fox Theater in downtown Salinas and operate the theater as a venue for live entertainment and gatherings. In 2012, the City of Salinas (the City) sent Lane a notice that the theater was not in compliance with the City building code and endangered public safety because an inspection suggested the theater had roof trusses that were supported by an unreinforced masonry wall. The City also cited ELI and Lane for allowing religious assemblies to be held on the ground floor of the theater in violation of the City zoning code. ELI and Lane had expensive seismic retrofitting improvements made to the Fox Theater and ended a valuable lease with the church that used the theater for worship services. ELI and Lane sued the City under 42 United States Code section 1983 (section 1983) for violation of constitutional rights. They alleged the City’s representations and actions in connection with the Fox Theater’s compliance with seismic strengthening provisions of the building codes, enforcement of those codes, and prohibition of religious assemblies at the theater, constituted a deprivation of their substantive due process…