Satanic Temple’s Religious Bias Lawsuit Stays in Federal Court

Two outdoor advertising companies will have to defend in a federal court in Arkansas a religious discrimination suit brought by the Satanic Temple Inc. over a canceled contract to display pro-abortion billboards.

An Arkansas law that prohibits religious discrimination in business dealings—under which the temple potentially can recover punitive damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees—applies and raises the amount in controversy to more than the federal diversity statute’s $75,000 minimum, the US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas said. The court rejected the advertising companies’ argument that the case should be dismissed because the temple’s potential breach-of-contract damages were ...