After being threatened with fines from their management company if they did not remove a nativity scene from their front lawn, the Samona family of Novi, Michigan, has been informed that the demand to remove the nativity has been withdrawn.
The management company first informed the Samona family that if they did not remove the display, they could be fined up to $100-a-week until the display was removed. Since moving into their new home three years ago, the Samona family has displayed a nativity scene on their front lawn during each Christmas season. This year, however, the management company of their subdivision sent them a letter demanding that they remove it.
In defiance, the Samona family contacted the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which agreed to represent the family at no charge. The Law Center contacted the management company yesterday on the family’s behalf.
Today the family received a letter from the management company informing them that their nativity display was not in violation of any rules or regulations of the subdivision and apologizing to the family for any distress they have caused. To show its regret over the incident, the company is sending the family a gift basket as a “as a token of our remorse, in the spirit of this holiday season.” The Samona family has requested that the company forward the gift basket to the Saint Vincent DePaul Society in Pontiac, Michigan.
According to Edward White, trial counsel for the Law Center who represented the family, “We are pleased the management company quickly realized the mistake it had made and corrected the matter. The Somanas are a great example for everyone. They showed that people should fight for what they believe in. I am glad the Thomas More Law Center was able to help them.”
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- (This update is courtesy of the The Thomas More Law Center.)
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