The City of Houston withdrew its effort to condemn the outdoor ministry area of Latter Day Deliverance Revival Church, a predominantly black church in the city’s Fifth Ward. 

On June 5, 2015, the Houston Housing Authority (HHA) announced that it was exercising its power of eminent domain to condemn the church’s outdoor ministry area. This area would be turned over to for-profit businesses, which the HHA argues would create jobs, stimulate the economy and generate tax revenue.

Two months later, the Liberty Institute–who took the case pro bono on behalf of the inner-city church–filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston. The Institute argued that condemning the church would violate the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as well as other legal protections.

Last month the city of Houston withdrew the condemnation action and ended the legal proceedings, abandoning efforts to seize the church’s property.