Kaahumanu v. County of Maui
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
315 F.3d 1215 (2003)
Sandra Barker (plaintiff) ran a commercial wedding business at her beachfront home and on an adjoining public beach in the County of Maui (defendant). Because her use of the property wasn't a permitted use under the county code, she applied for a conditional-use permit (CUP), which only the Maui County Council could grant by ordinance. The planning commission recommended approval, but the Council's land-use committee recommended rejection, and the Council voted to reject the application. Barker and Pastor Laki Kaahumanu (plaintiff), who performed some of the ceremonies, were later cited for holding commercial weddings on residential property. They sued the Council members individually and officially under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and RLUIPA. The district court dismissed the official-capacity claims but let the individual-capacity claims proceed, rejecting the Council members' argument that legislative immunity barred them; the members appealed that ruling.
Whether a formally legislative act should be treated as administrative, and therefore stripped of absolute legislative immunity, when the act is ad hoc, affects only a few individuals, and does not bear the hallmarks of traditional legislation.