Diffenderfer v. Central Baptist Church, 404 U.S. 412 (1972)

Diffenderfer v. Central Baptist Church of Miami, Florida, Inc.

No. 70-47

Argued December 6, 1971
Decided January 10, 1972
404 U.S. 412

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Syllabus

Appellants brought suit for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging under the Religion Clause of the First Amendment, a Florida statute to the extent that it authorized a tax exemption for a church parking lot used, inter alia, for commercial purposes.

Held: The subsequent repeal of the challenged statute and enactment of new legislation make the relief sought inappropriate. The District Court’s judgment upholding the statute is vacated, and the case is remanded with leave to appellants to amend their pleadings if they desire to attack the new statute or show that the old statute retains some force.

316 F.Supp. 1116, vacated and remanded.