PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a Rhode Island man’s lawsuit claiming church bells he said were disrupting his life also were a violation of the Constitution.
The Providence Journal reports (https://bit.ly/1Abm408) a U.S. district judge declared last week that all matters were resolved regarding Narragansett resident John Devaney’s complaint.
The court accepted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to dismiss his lawsuit, which argued the town acted unconstitutionally by allowing the bells to toll under its noise ordinance. He said the bells diminished his home’s value and led to losses of family, friends and peace of mind.
The court found he failed to reasonably prove the town’s exemption of the church-bell ringing from the town’s noise ordinance constituted an impermissible establishment of religion.
Devaney first filed his lawsuit in July 2013.
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Information from: The Providence Journal, https://www.providencejournal.com
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