SOUTH BEND — A federal judge has decided the fate of the former Family Dollar Store on LaSalle Street in South Bend.
The city paid $1.2 million for the property near downtown and then sold it to the Diocese for $1 for the new St. Joseph’s High School's football field.
But a group of people sued the city, saying that deal violates the Constitution, specifically the separation of church and state.
The case went before a federal Judge last week.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Miller Jr. issued an injunction to stop the transfer of land. St. Joseph’s High School said they'll respond once they've had the opportunity to fully study and understand the details of judge's decision.
But, of course, the judge's ruling sparked some mixed reaction around South Bend.
It all started in the County-City Building on June 27, 2011. There was a 5-4 vote in council favoring Mayor Steve Luecke's plan to buy and transfer a parcel of land to the new St. Joseph's High School.
But on Wednesday Judge Miller ruled that deal unconstitutional. In his 36-page ruling, he said, "The court finds that a transfer of the Family Dollar lot from the city to St. Joseph's High School would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and so grants the taxpayers’ motions for an injunction."
Moreover, the judge said the public use of land is unfair.
“St. Joseph's High School is receiving more from the city than it is giving the city in exchange, and so is receiving a direct benefit not by the act of some independent actor, such as a parent, but from the city," Miller said in his ruling.
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed the suit against the city. They applauded the judge's decision.
"This is a huge victory for us, church-state separation and the people of South Bend," said Americans United attorney Alex Luchenitser.
They're not the only ones. The ruling sparked satisfaction across the board for some taxpayers who stood their ground.
"It was pretty exciting news," said Roy Wirtz from South Bend, a plaintiff in the case.
Wirtz is one of four plaintiffs. He said the injunction is a win for all South Bend taxpayers.
“Huge victory. I understand the city has 30 days to make a decision on whether they're going to appeal or not," Wirtz said.
Luecke's office declined to comment, but WSBT tracked down South Bend city attorney Chuck Leone.
"You have 36 pages to go through right now, have you gone through any of it?” WSBT asked.
“We’ve taken a first look, but we need some time to review it and understand the court’s reasoning and from there decide what our next step is,” Leone said.
“Any initial reaction to this?” we asked.
“We are disappointed, obviously, but we're going to look at the decision and find out why it says what it says,” Leone responded.
“So you're going to go through the 36 pages. Until then, can you give me any moving forward plan for options for the City or St. Joe?” we asked.
“The options really depend on exactly what’s in the decision. Until we look at it and discuss it, it doesn’t make sense to make guesses at to what we might do," Leone said.
The city has 30 days to file an appeal to the ruling. There's no indication right now as to what direction the city plans to take.
If the ruling becomes permanent, the construction schedule and opening of the high school may be affected, because the school will have to find another way to acquire the piece of land which belongs to the city.
Construction of the new St. Joseph's High School is already underway just east of downtown South Bend.
