Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc.

459 U.S. 116 (1982)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Grendel (P) operates a restaurant. The Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Parish is located adjacent to the restaurant; the back walls of the two buildings are 10 feet apart. P applied to the Cambridge License Commission for approval of an alcoholic beverages license for the restaurant. Section 16Cof the Massachusetts General Laws provides: 'Premises . . . located within a radius of five hundred feet of a church or school shall not be licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages if the governing body of such church or school files written objection thereto.' The Church objected to the application, expressing concern over 'having so many licenses so near.' D voted to deny the application, citing only the objection of Holy Cross Church and noting that the church 'is within 10 feet of the proposed location.' On appeal, D upheld the License Commission's action. P sued Ds claiming that §16C, on its face and as applied, violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and the Sherman Act. The District Court denied Ds' motion to dismiss. The District Court held that §16C violated the Due Process Clause and the Establishment Clause and held §16C void on its face. It rejected P's equal protection arguments but held that D's actions were not immune from antitrust review. The First Circuit reversed the District Court on the Due Process and Establishment Clause arguments but affirmed its antitrust analysis. On rehearing en banc the court affirmed the District Court's judgment on Establishment Clause grounds without reaching the due process or antitrust claims. The court concluded that §16C confers a direct and substantial benefit upon religions by 'the grant of a veto power over liquor sales in roughly one million square feet . . . of what may be a city's most commercially valuable sites.' The Supreme Court granted certiorari.