Nashville City Paper - Metro Owes Teen Challenge Nearly $1 Million in Damages

September 11, 2008
by Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper

Two years worth of controversy and legal wrangling culminated Wednesday with a six-person jury awarding Teen Challenge nearly $1 million in damages in the faith-based nonprofits lawsuit against Metro government.

The chain of events leading to the jurys $967,995 ruling in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee began when Teen Challenge, which offers drug and alcohol rehabilitation services to young people, purchased a 13-acre property in Goodlettsville two years ago.

Nearby residents protested Teen Challenges inclusion in the neighborhood and District 10 Councilman Rip Ryman responded by introducing legislation cutting out rehabilitation services as a permitted use in agricultural districts.

Metro Council passed Rymans bill in February 2007, and the zoning change did two things: First, it forced Teen Challenge to sell the $800,000 parcel at auction. Second, it violated federal land use laws, according to Metros own attorneys.

Teen Challenge responded by filing their lawsuit. Eventually, Metro admitted it violated the federal Fair Housing Act and moved the case to a damages-only trial.

The six-member jury decided those damages totaled just under $1 million and Metro isnt out of the woods yet. Two $50,000 claims against Metro from former Teen Challenge members are still pending trial.

Teen Challenge Nashville Executive Director Norma Calhoun gave God the glory, for Wednesdays ruling.

Its a new day for us, Calhoun said, adding Teen Challenge would look to buy another piece of property for a new facility.

The U.S. Department of Justice also took notice of Teen Challenges case and earlier this year initiated an investigation into Metros land use policies. That investigation is still pending, although indications were that the DOJ was keeping tabs on the civil suit before it reached a decision.

As a good-faith effort to the DOJ and at the urging of Director of Law Sue Cain, Metro Council in July repealed the zoning change that prompted the lawsuit.

But attorney Larry Crain, who represented Teen Challenge in the case, said the zoning change reversal was too little, too late.

For 17 months, this organization was effectively banned from occupying property in Davidson County, Crain said. Only six weeks ago were they allowed to begin again the search for a home that they had already bought.

After the zoning change, Teen Challenge was forced to sell its property at auction, but the organization had already paid for more than $100,000 in renovations. The property was meant to eventually house approximately 40 young people suffering from addiction.

Teen Challenge said it lost significant revenue as a result, because the organization currently only has the capacity to minister to 18 individuals.

As it turns out, the Goodlettsville property Teen Challenge originally purchased is back up for sale. Calhoun, however, said Teen Challenge had no intentions of pursuing that property and would look elsewhere for a new facility.

Metro attorney Frank Young, who had the difficult task of limiting damages when Metro had already admitted it was at fault, had no comment after the hearing.

Crain said the two claims of former Teen Challenge members would be heard in the coming weeks.