A lawyer, who became known as the “Christmas Lawyer” after… A huge lights display featuring a live nativity scene, a camel and 700,000 light bulbs drew thousands of visitors to his Idaho home and his case could be heard by the Supreme Court.
Jeremy Morris of Hayden, east of Spokane, Washington It drew both the fury of their neighbors and the attention of Apple TV+, which ended up featuring the dispute in a 2021 documentary, ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas.’
In 2017, a jury found that his homeowners association discriminated against him because of his religious beliefs by trying to stop his Christmas display.
But a federal judge later overturned that verdict and ordered Morris to pay more than $111,000 in legal fees to the homeowners association.
Jeremy Morris became known as the “Christmas Lawyer” after a massive lights display featuring a nativity scene, a camel and 700,000 lights drew thousands of people to his Idaho home.
In 2017, a jury found that his homeowners association (HOA) discriminated against him because of his religious beliefs by attempting to stop his Christmas display.
Morris then challenged the ruling before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviewed the case in June 2020.
Four years later, a three-judge panel issued a mixed ruling, favoring both the HOA and Morris on different counts but setting the stage for a new jury trial.
Meanwhile, Morris is “absolutely” considering appealing to the Supreme Court first.
The Supreme Court receives more than 7,000 case requests a year, but typically hears fewer than 100.
‘It was clear that a jury could find… that a hostile atmosphere was created, that our family was discriminated against,’ Jeremy Morris told Fox News regarding the decision.
“We can retry the case … and I think we would win as we did before. If we were to interpret this decision strictly, people of any religion can be discriminated against. You can admit that you are discriminating against them,” Morris said.
“We all know that no court would do that, but a court has just made it clear that you can do that to a Christian.”
Despite legal threats from the Homeowners Association, it continued with its elaborate light show, a live nativity scene and even a camel.
Thousands of people flocked to see the brilliant spectacle of 200,000 lights, costumed characters, musicians and a children’s choir.
An elaborate nativity scene was also part of the eye-catching display.
The dispute began after Morris made an offer on a house following his first light show at his former home on Christmas 2014.
When he informed the West Hayden Estates Homeowners Association of his plans to repeat the event, the Homeowners Association attempted to prevent it, citing potential violations of community rules regarding size, noise and brightness.
The Homeowners Association also expressed concern about the event’s impact on “non-Christians” and the potential for attracting “undesirables.”
Morris argued that the homeowners association’s actions constituted religious discrimination and moved into the house.
Despite legal threats from the homeowners association, he went ahead with his elaborate light show featuring 200,000 lights along with costumed characters, musicians, a children’s choir, a live nativity scene and even a camel.
Morris even rented a fleet of buses to bring visitors to the event while recruiting volunteers to direct traffic through the streets around his home.
Thousands of people from as far away as Canada and news crews from around the world came over five nights to see the display that raised money for children’s charities.
The conflict then escalated with reports of harassment and threats against Morris and his family.
The neighbours were accused of harassing onlookers while another local resident was caught on camera offering to “babysit” him.
In January 2017, Morris sued the Homeowners Association for religious discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
Although a jury initially sided with Morris, the court ordered the homeowners association to pay him $75,000.
Neighbors described Morris as an extremist stalker who secretly recorded their conversations and obsessively documented alleged rule violations by other homeowners association members to build his case.
In a shocking twist, Judge B. Lynn Winmill overturned the verdict, saying the issue was the Morris family’s violation of neighborhood rules, not religious discrimination.
When they appealed the decision, In a shocking twist, Judge B. Lynn Winmill overturned the verdict, saying the issue was the Morris family’s violation of neighborhood rules, not religious discrimination, and ordered Morris to pay the HOA’s legal fees of $111,000.
Winmill said the secret recordings showed Morris behaving in an “aggressively confrontational” manner and he was permanently banned from holding a Christmas display without permission from the homeowners association.
The 9th Circuit’s recent ruling since upheld the judge’s reversal, but also found evidence that the HOA’s actions were partially motivated by Morris’s religious expression.
The ruling was split, with a dissenting judge suggesting that the homeowners association’s behavior had more to do with making the Morris family unwelcome.
The Homeowners Association “categorically denies interfering with the Morrises’ right to purchase and enjoy their home free from discrimination and has always strived to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment for all residents,” attorney Peter Smith wrote in a statement to Fox News.
Jeremy Morris is pictured with his wife Kristy and their Christmas decorations at their home in Hayden, Idaho. He has been embroiled in a court battle with his homeowners association over the decorations.
Morris has since moved out of Idaho and now also plans to sue the Idaho State Bar for $10 million for allegedly pressuring him to give up his law license.
“We look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate in court that the Association acted lawfully. We are confident that the legal proceedings will ultimately vindicate the Association and demonstrate that it has not created a hostile neighborhood for the Morrises.”
Although the Homeowners Association denies that there were any discriminatory practices, the legal battle continues.
At one point, Morris said he did not want to take legal action and did not even offer to waive his right to file a lawsuit if the homeowners association agreed to leave his family alone, but the association refused.
Morris, who has since moved from Idaho, also plans to sue the Idaho State Bar for $10 million for allegedly pressuring him to give up his law license in exchange for dropping disciplinary charges related to comments he made about the judge in his case.