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Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak — U.S. District Court, D. Nev.

Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak — U.S. District Court, D. Nev. — 20 documents in the archive, dated May 28, 2020 to May 13, 2021.

Case facts

CourtU.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (17 filings); UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT (3 filings)
Docket numberNo. 3:20-cv-00303 — main docket · CourtListener docket 143509
Filings20 public filings
Filed2020-05-28 – 2021-05-13
Document typesorders (4), declarations (2), motions (2), complaint (1), exhibit (1), response or reply (1)
Original PDFs20 of 20

Case summary

Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak, No. 3:20-cv-00303 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, is a suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 brought by a church against the Governor and Attorney General of Nevada and the Sheriff of Lyon County, each in his official capacity. The verified first amended complaint, filed May 28, 2020, brought facial and as-applied First and Fourteenth Amendment challenges to the 50-person attendance limit on indoor services in houses of worship imposed by Emergency Directive 021. On June 11, 2020 the court denied the motions for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, and on June 19, 2020 it denied an injunction pending appeal. The case ended in a consent decree approved May 13, 2021 that permanently enjoins Nevada from enforcing numerical capacity limits on indoor religious gatherings.

Case at a glance

PartiesPlaintiff Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley; defendants Steve Sisolak, Governor of Nevada, Aaron Ford, Attorney General of Nevada, and Frank Hunewill, Sheriff of Lyon County, each in his official capacity
Court and docketU.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, No. 3:20-cv-00303; the filings carry the judge initials LRH-CLB, RFB-VCF and MMD-CLB at different dates
ProgramNot named in the filings on this page. The subject is Nevada's COVID-19 emergency directives on gathering capacity
ClaimsFree Exercise, Speech and Assembly Clause claims under the First Amendment and a Fourteenth Amendment claim, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking a declaration that the 50-person limit is unconstitutional facially and as applied, and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief
Disposition or statusSettled by consent decree approved and ordered May 13, 2021, which resolves all claims in the amended complaint and permanently enjoins Nevada from enforcing the capacity limits; Nevada agreed to pay the church's reasonable attorney's fees and costs
Status checked2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read

What did the district court decide on the injunction?

It denied the emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and the motion for a preliminary injunction on June 11, 2020, granting leave to file a new motion with more evidence for an as-applied claim, and denied an injunction pending appeal on June 19, 2020.

What does the consent decree do?

It permanently enjoins Nevada from enforcing the numerical capacity limits of Directives 021 and 035 on indoor religious gatherings, and from enforcing a percentage capacity limit less favorable than the highest imposed on casinos, entertainment venues and food and spirits establishments.

How did the case reach that point?

A joint status report of January 5, 2021 records that the Supreme Court was to consider the church's petition for a writ of certiorari on January 8, 2021, that the Ninth Circuit had issued an injunction, and that the parties jointly asked the district court to stay the case pending resolution of the petition.

Docket

20 documents in docket-entry order; attachments follow their entry. Gaps name the entries we do not have.

No. 3:20-cv-00303

  1. Verified First Amended Complaint — Calvary Chapel v. SisolakEntry 8
  2. Emergency Motion for TRO and Preliminary Injunction — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 9
  3. Declaration of Pastor Garry D. Leist — Calvary Chapel v. SisolakEntry 9, attachment 1
  4. Declaration of Counsel Jason D. Guinasso — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 9, attachment 2
  5. —Entries 10–15 are not in the archive
  6. Order Denying Emergency Consideration — Calvary Chapel v. SisolakEntry 16
  7. —Entries 17–18 are not in the archive
  8. Second Emergency Motion for TRO and PI — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 19
  9. —Entries 20–22 are not in the archive
  10. Order Denying Reconsideration of Emergency-Basis Denial — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 23
  11. —Entries 25–28 are not in the archive; entry 24 is listed under More documents below
  12. State's Opposition to Emergency Motion for Preliminary Injunction — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev., 2020-06-02)Entry 29
  13. —Entries 30–31 are not in the archive
  14. Sheriff Hunewill's Limited Joinder to State Opposition — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 32
  15. —Entries 33–36 are not in the archive; entry 37 is listed under More documents below
  16. —Entry 38: main document not in the archive
  17. Exhibit: Nevada Emergency Directive 021 (Phase Two Reopening Plan) — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 38, attachment 2
  18. State's Response to Plaintiff's Supplement Brief — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 39
  19. —Entry 40 is not in the archive
  20. Motion for Leave to File Post-Hearing Supplemental Brief — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 41
  21. State's Opposition to Post-Hearing Supplemental Brief Motion — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev., 2020-06-11)Entry 42
  22. Order Denying Emergency Motions for TRO and Preliminary Injunction — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 43
  23. —Entries 44–47 and 49–50 are not in the archive; entry 48 is listed under More documents below
  24. Sheriff Hunewill's Limited Opposition to Injunction Pending Appeal — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 51
  25. State's Opposition to Motion for Injunction Pending Appeal — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 52
  26. Plaintiff's Reply in Support of Injunction Pending Appeal — Calvary Chapel v. SisolakEntry 53
  27. —Entry 54 is not in the archive
  28. Order Denying Motion for Injunction Pending Appeal — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 55
  29. —Entries 56–64 are not in the archive
  30. Joint Status Report and Proposed Order (Certiorari Pending) — Calvary Chapel v. Sisolak (D. Nev.)Entry 65
  31. —Entries 66–72 are not in the archive; entry 73 is listed under More documents below
  32. Consent Decree — Calvary Chapel v. SisolakEntry 74

More documents from this case’s dockets

4 more documents linked to this case’s dockets are in the archive and not in the docket above.

  1. Proposed Order — Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak (District of Nevada, Document 37, filed 06/03/20)Source document
  2. Designation of Transcripts to Be Used in Record on Appeal — Case 3:20-cv-00303-RFB-VCF (Document 48)Source document
  3. Consent Decree — Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak, No. 3:20-cv-00303-RFB-VCF (D. Nev.)Source document
  4. undatedTransfer Order — Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak (Dkt. 24)Source documentTransfer Order reassigning Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak to Judge Boulware as related to an earlier worship-restriction case.

Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.

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