Whether the 9th Circuit erred in overturning a jury verdict in a Fair Housing Act case involving religious discrimination by a homeowners' association

QUESTIONS PRESENTED We are somewhat hesitant to bring up the fact that some of our residents are non-Christians (avowed atheists) or people of another faith and we don’t even want to think of the problems that would bring up. West Hayden Estates Homeowners’ Association Certified Letter to Morris family West Hayden Estates Homeowners’ Association sent a certified letter to homebuyers Jeremy and Kristy Morris about their planned Christmas display after they were under contract to buy a home, but before closing. The letter was sent after Mr. Morris informed the HOA he had a Christian ministry at his house: a 2hour, 5-night per year Christmas fundraiser for children with cancer. After a 6-day trial in Idaho Federal District Court and 15 hours of deliberations, a jury unanimously found the HOA violated 42 U.S.C. § 3617, § 3604b, and § 3604c of the Fair Housing Act. Five months later, the judge flipped the verdict under Rule 50(b) despite a certified letter, a tape recorded confession, and testimony that the HOA President told the sellers that the HOA was “not want[ing] the Morris family to push their religious beliefs on others in the neighborhood.” (App.22a; App.70a). The questions presented for review are: 1. Whether the 9th Circuit erred by interpreting Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to permit a judge to overturn a jury verdict based on weighing evidence and the credibility of witnesses, thereby infringing on the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial in civil cases in federal court. ii 2. Whether Rule 50 should be narrowly construed to limit judicial interference with a jury verdict in an action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 3604(b) § 3604(c) and § 3617 of the 1968 Fair Housing Act in accordance with the standard set out by this Court in Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133 (2000) despite the 9th Circuit’s opinion that even a tape recorded admission of discrimination and a certified letter targeting religious homebuyers sent on the basis of Petitioner’s “beliefs” were insufficient for a unanimous jury to withstand Rule 50b. 3. Whether the 9th Circuit should have restored the Plaintiffs’ jury award rather than offering the Plaintiffs a new trial in their concurrence that a jury could have found that the Respondent created a hostile environment under 42 U.S.C. § 3617.