Village Of Belle Terre v. Boraas

416 U.S. 1 (1974)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The Belle Terre (D) restricted land use to single-family dwellings. D was a small village of about 220 homes inhabited by 700 people. D defined a family as one or more persons related by blood, adoption or marriage, living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit, exclusive of household servants; a number of persons but not exceeding two living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit though not related by blood adoption or marriage shall be deemed to constitute a family. Dickman (P) was an owner of a house in the village. P leased it to Truman, and later Borass (P1) became a co lessee. Anne Parish moved into the house along with three others. P1 and the five other persons were in violation of the ordinance as they were unrelated to each other and none were married to each other. They were students at the nearby University at Stoney Brook. D served Ps with an 'Order to Remedy Violations.' Ps brought an action for an injunction, claiming that the ordinance was unconstitutional in that the ordinance violated their right to free association and privacy under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The district court ruled that the ordinance was constitutional and the Court of Appeals reversed. D appealed.