Church Battles State Over Million-Dollar Lockdown Fine
A church in California is preparing to escalate its legal battle after a court ruled that it must pay over $1.2 million in penalties for not adhering to local COVID-19 safety regulations. Calvary Chapel San Jose was fined $1,228,700 for violating Santa Clara County’s mask mandates between November 2020 and June 2021. The decision, upheld by a state appeals court on April 15, has prompted the church to announce further legal action.
Attorney Robert Tyler, who represents the church through Tyler Law LLP, stated that they strongly disagree with the court’s findings. He emphasized that the church plans to file a petition for a rehearing and intends to eventually bring the case before the California Supreme Court and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court. Tyler criticized the ruling as legally and factually flawed, arguing that the citations issued to the church were invalid from the outset.
The fines stemmed from Calvary Chapel’s continued operation during the pandemic without enforcing mask-wearing or submitting a social distancing protocol, as required by county health orders. Church officials have consistently argued that these mandates infringed on their constitutional rights and that the penalties imposed were excessive. Tyler further pointed out that one of the orders the church was accused of violating had previously been ruled unconstitutional by the same appeals court.
In addition to contesting the fines, Calvary Chapel had filed a federal lawsuit against Santa Clara County over the COVID-19 restrictions. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit dismissed that case in April 2023, citing the ongoing state-level litigation. Earlier this year, in February 2024, a trial court affirmed the church’s financial liability, though it did reduce the original fine amount.
The most recent decision from the Sixth Appellate District confirmed that Calvary Chapel knowingly disregarded multiple public health directives, even amid evidence that some congregants and members of the church’s school community had contracted COVID-19. The court described the church’s violations as deliberate and significant, given the ongoing efforts to mitigate the virus’s spread.