West
‘Christmas Lawyer’ eyes Supreme Court review in battle with HOA over holiday light show
The battle between a man who orchestrated massive Christmas extravaganzas and his former homeowners association could be appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower court issued its long-awaited ruling.
“It was made clear that a jury could find … that there was a hostile atmosphere created, that our family was discriminated against,” Jeremy Morris told Fox News Digital of the ruling.
Morris, an attorney, became popularly referred to as the “Christmas Lawyer” after gaining international notoriety for throwing a five-day holiday light show that drew thousands of revelers to his former home just outside of Hayden, Idaho.
In 2017, a jury unanimously agreed that his HOA discriminated against him on the basis of religion by trying to stop his Christmas show. But in a stunning twist, a federal judge reversed that verdict and ordered Morris to pay the HOA more than $111,000 in legal fees.
Jeremy Morris gained international fame after his former homeowners association tried to stop him from putting on an extravagant Christmas celebration at his family’s house. Almost a decade later, the ensuing court battle still isn’t over. (Courtesy Jeremy Morris)
‘CHRISTMAS LAWYER’ WHO WENT TO WAR WITH HIS HOA IS NOW FACING ANOTHER FIGHT — THE IDAHO STATE BAR
Morris challenged the ruling in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard arguments in June 2020. Four years later, a three-judge panel ruled in the HOA’s favor in part and in Morris’ favor in part, teeing the case up for a new jury trial.
But Morris said he is “absolutely” considering appealing to the Supreme Court first.
How the Christmas light fight began
Morris made an offer on his house just after throwing his inaugural light show at his previous home over Christmas 2014.
He informed the West Hayden Estates homeowners association that he planned to repeat the event and the HOA immediately tried to squash the Christmas display, arguing it would likely violate three sections of the community’s covenants, conditions and restrictions. The event would be too big, too noisy and too bright, the board wrote in a letter sent to Morris in January 2015.
Crucially, the letter also pondered whether “non-Christians” would be bothered by the display and expressed concerns that the show would draw “possible undesirables” to the neighborhood.
Morris wrote back, arguing that there was nothing applicable to his event in the CC&Rs and that the board was engaging in religious discrimination. His family closed on the house and moved in.
The HOA board sent this letter to Jeremy Morris in January 2015, outlining rules they believed his Christmas display would violate and worrying that residents who were “non-Christians” might object to the program. ( )
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When Morris started decking his house with around 200,000 individual lights that fall, the HOA’s attorney sent him a letter threatening legal action if he hosted the event without approval from the board.
The show went on anyway. Costumed characters, musicians, a children’s choir, a live nativity scene and even a camel greeted spectators. Morris rented shuttle buses to carry visitors to the event, and volunteers directed cars through the streets around the house, according to court documents.
Tensions grew leading up to the Morris family’s next show. Neighbors were accused of harassing spectators. A bus driver said one resentful resident repeatedly tried to stage an accident when shuttles passed by. Morris said his family received threats, including an in-person confrontation partially caught on camera in which a neighbor offered to “take care of him.”
Morris previously told Fox News Digital that he didn’t want to take legal action and that he offered to waive his rights to proceed with a lawsuit if the HOA agreed to leave his family alone. The HOA refused, he said, and the statute of limitations was almost up on the original letter.
Jury unanimously sided with Morris in discrimination lawsuit, but judge flipped the verdict
Morris sued in January 2017, alleging religious discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act. A jury unanimously sided with him and ordered the HOA to pay $75,000.
But Judge B. Lynn Winmill took the unusual step of flipping the verdict and ordering Morris to pay the HOA’s legal fees, concluding the case wasn’t about religious discrimination, but rather the Morris family’s violation of neighborhood rules.
Jeremy Morris’ legal fight with his HOA was the subject of a 2021 Apple TV+ documentary “‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas.” He’s also seeking an agent for his book about the experience. (Courtesy Jeremy Morris)
‘STOP THE NONSENSE’: LAWMAKERS IN ONE STATE MOVE TO GIVE HOMEOWNERS MORE RIGHTS IN HOA DISPUTES
The judge’s order also permanently banned the Morris family from holding another Christmas program that violated the HOA rules, now a moot point since they have moved out of Idaho.
The Morris family appealed, and in June 2020, their case went before the 9th Circuit.
9th Circuit Court of Appeals says letter didn’t break the law, but that HOA may have created a hostile environment
Now, four years later, a three-judge panel affirmed Winmill’s overturning of the jury verdict, concluding that a reasonable jury should not have found the HOA letter from 2015 indicated a preference that a “non-religious individual” buy the Morrises’ home.
But the panel also found that there was enough evidence supporting the jury’s conclusion that the HOA board’s “conduct was motivated at least in part by the Morrises’ religious expression,” according to the more than 100-page ruling.
The panel’s decision was split, with a lengthy dissent from Judge Daniel P. Collins, who suggested the HOA’s behavior was more consistent with making the Morris family “unwelcome” than with enforcing rules. Collins suggested that the board’s action also contributed to harassment toward the Morrises by other residents, physical confrontations and a death threat.
The HOA “categorically denies it interfered with the Morrises’ right to purchase and enjoy their home free from discrimination” and “has always strived to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment for all residents,” its attorney, Peter Smith, wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
“We look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate in court that the Association acted legally,” Smith continued. “We are confident that the legal proceedings will ultimately vindicate the Association and show that it has not created a hostile neighborhood for the Morrises.”
WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE
“We can retry the case … and I do believe that we would win as we did before,” Morris told Fox News Digital.
But he said the 9th Circuit’s ruling regarding the letter sets a concerning precedent and suggested the outcome would have been different if “non-Christian” was replaced with any other faith.
“If we were to strictly interpret this decision, people of any faith can be discriminated against. You can admit that you’re discriminating against them,” he said. “We all know that no court would do that, but a court just made it clear you can do that to a Christian.”
He added that, “Christians are no longer in the United States given the same property rights as other people.”
The Supreme Court is asked to review more than 7,000 cases each year and usually agrees to hear fewer than 100.
Thousands of people are estimated to have attended the 2015 and 2016 Christmas light displays at Morris’ home near Hayden, Idaho. Morris said the shows ran for a couple of hours on five nights each December. (Courtesy Jeremy Morris)
Separate suit planned against Idaho State Bar
Morris also told Fox News Digital he is moving to sue the Idaho State Bar for an alleged “shakedown” last year, which he compared to mob tactics.
Representatives of the Idaho State Bar scrutinized comments Morris made about the judge who overturned his case — including that he was “corrupt” and an “anti-Christian bigot” who attempted to “rig a jury.”
The bar threatened to pursue disciplinary charges under Idaho’s professional conduct rules, but offered to dismiss the case if Morris gave up his Idaho legal license, according to correspondence shared with Fox News. Bar counsel noted that Morris has moved out of state and the pending “disciplinary grievance” has affected his ability to gain employment in his new home.
Morris says he has notified the bar that he plans to sue for $10 million.
A representative of the Idaho State Bar declined to comment on potential litigation. The spokesperson also declined to comment on Morris’ possible disciplinary actions other than to say that no formal case has been filed.
Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.
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San Francisco, CA
California dominates top 10 priciest U.S. cities for homeowners — here’s what you need to earn
- California dominates US housing costs, with 9 of 10 priciest metros; San Jose leads at $11,690/month.
- San Francisco and Los Angeles also rank high, requiring annual incomes of $358,090 and $301,221 respectively.
- Despite a slight decline in income requirements since 2025, affordability remains a distant dream for many.
From Silicon Valley to San Diego, the Golden State boasts nine of the 10 most expensive metropolitan areas in the US for homeowners, a new report revealed.
San Jose landed in the top spot, followed by San Francisco at No. 2 and Los Angeles at No. 5.
An analysis from ConsumerAffairs examined monthly home payments across 200 of the nation’s largest metro areas to determine the income needed to afford a home in each location.
In San Jose, that monthly cost came out to a staggering $11,690 — making it by far the the most expensive US metro for homeowners for the second year in a row.
Buyers now need to earn an eye-popping $501,012 in annual income to afford a typical property.
That figure dwarfs the city’s actual median household income of $164,801, exceeding it by a massive 204%, according to the report. It also far surpasses the national median household income of $81,604.
With a median home price of more than $1.55 million, ownership in the Silicon Valley city remains out of reach for most residents.
Nearby San Francisco ranked the second most expensive, with monthly housing costs at $8,355 and buyers needing to earn $358,090 annually to afford a home there, the analysis found.
In Los Angeles, monthly costs averaged $7,029, with buyers needing to earn $301,221.
The 10 most expensive metro areas in the US and their average monthly costs:
- 1. San Jose: $11,690
- 2. San Francisco: $8,355
- 3. Santa Cruz: $354,973
- 4. Santa Maria: $305,535
- 5. Los Angeles: $301,221
- 6. San Diego: $293,618
- 7. San Luis Obispo: $280,591
- 8. Oxnard: $276,805
- 9. Salinas: $262,403
- 10. Honolulu, Hawaii: $255,280
The only metro outside California to crack the top 10 was Honolulu.
The divide across the country is stark.
The gap between the income needed to buy a home in San Jose compared to Huntington, West Virginia, the most affordable metro in the analysis, stood at a staggering $447,362.
Despite the sky-high costs, there is a slight silver lining: Income requirements in each of the top 10 cities in the ranking declined more than the average national drop of 3.2% since 2025.
Still, affordability remains a distant dream for many Americans.
The last time a typical US household could comfortably follow the 28% rule — spending no more than 28% of income on housing — was in 2015, when incomes exceeded required levels by just 0.4%.
Today, buyers need 48% more income than the median household earns nationwide.
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DENVER — A strong, late-season snowstorm has moved into northern Colorado and the Front Range Tuesday evening and will continue into Wednesday, making for a hazardous morning commute.
MORE | Denver7 weather blog
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning from midnight Tuesday through 3 p.m. Wednesday.
How much are we getting?
The NWS forecasts 5-8 inches of snow for the Interstate 25 corridor, while areas closer to the foothills could receive up to 9 inches.
For the Eastern Plains, forecasters expect 2-6 inches of snow, a lower total than in the Front Range.
The Northern Mountains and foothills could receive as much as 2 feet of snow, with Estes Park and surrounding areas seeing early accumulation Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Southern Mountains are forecasted to get 6-14 inches.
NWS
When will it get here?
In Denver, rain began to transition to snow around 5 p.m. And snow accumulation is expected to continue into Wednesday afternoon, according to the NWS.
Forecasters expect that from Tuesday at midnight to 9 a.m. Wednesday will see the brunt of this storm in the Denver metro area.
NWS
What are the biggest concerns?
That midnight-to-9 a.m. stretch of snowfall should have the biggest impact, according to the NWS.
Wet, heavy snowfall poses the greatest risk for broken branches and tree damage, especially in areas with the largest accumulations, which can cause scattered power outages.
Hazardous conditions, especially for the morning commute in the Denver metro area, are expected due to heavy snowfall. The Colorado Department of Transportation is prepared for these impacts.
CDOT said there will be about 100 plows throughout the storm, focusing on clearing interstates and major roadways first before secondary roads.
Tuesday evening forecast
When will it skidaddle out of here?
Snow accumulation should end north to south by midday Wednesday, with drier weather moving in Wednesday night into Thursday.
Denver will see a high of 39 degrees with a low dropping below freezing on Wednesday. A freeze warning is likely on Wednesday night.
Thursday, we may see a shower or two, but mild springlike conditions will return.
NWS
Weather Links
MORE: Hourly forecast | Latest forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream
Stream live, current temperatures plus radars across Colorado anytime for free on the free Denver7+ app on your TV or watch from your computer or mobile phone anytime.
The Seattle Mariners have been staring down a difficult decision for weeks now and it’s only getting closer as Bryce Miller nears the end of his rehab assignment.
Two factors Hyphen sees in Bryan Woo’s recent struggles
When Miller makes his return to the big league club, which is now less than two weeks away barring a setback, the Mariners will have six capable starters but only five rotation spots.
The assumption when Miller started the season on the injured list was that he would replace Emerson Hancock when he returned, but Hancock has been Seattle’s best starter thus far, posting a 2.59 ERA over seven starts while striking out batters at a career-best 28.9% clip.
Now it looks as if veteran Luis Castillo could be the top candidate to taken out of the rotation. In seven starts this season, the right-hander has produced a 6.29 ERA and minus-0.8 bWAR.
ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan weighed in on the possibility of Castillo being taken out of the starting rotation when he joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday.
“I think it all depends on where Luis Castillo’s frame of mind is,” Passan said. “If Luis Castillo is open to going to the bullpen, you consider that. And if he is not, then you take a look and see what his willingness to go on the injured list is. And if that’s not the case, then maybe you do consider a six-man rotation. I think there are just lots of different possibilities here.”
For Passan, what Castillo has done for the organization, which includes helping the team reach the playoffs twice, is also an important part of the equation.
“I think what also factors in is Luis Castillo has done this for a really long time at a really high level and been a really important part of the success that you’ve had organizationally, and I don’t take that lightly,” Passan said. “I think the way that you treat people who have done right by you and helped you get into the position (you’re in), they’re not disposable. So you can’t just say to Luis Castillo, you’re not performing right now, you’re going to the pen.
“Well, you could. I just don’t know how well that goes over and I don’t know what sort of precedent that sets for treatment of players going forward.”
Passan added that moving Castillo to the bullpen is the type of “cold” decision a contender has to make sometimes, but that having a productive Castillo is also key for the team.
“Having a productive Luis Castillo makes them much likelier to be a World Series team,” Passan said. “You can get rid of your manager and survive that. But knowing that Castillo has to be around still, you just need to be mindful of the way – not even the way that you’re treating him, because the way that you’re treating him is through your perspective. The question is, how does he feel like he’s being treated? That is imperative here, and if you can thread the needle and figure out a way to solve your problem while still keeping Luis Castillo content, then that’s the ideal (situation). That’s the goal, that is the aim of this whole thing. And it’s a very delicate and difficult subject.”
Castillo in line for positive regression?
While it has been a struggle for Castillo early on, Passan sees some reason to believe his numbers will level out with more starts. He pointed to Castillo’s 4.25 FIP, which is nearly identical to Bryan Woo’s and better than Logan Gilbert’s. However, he is concerned with Castillo’s career-low groundball rate.
“Ever since he’s come to Seattle, he’s been much more of a flyball pitcher. But he’s down to a 33% ground ball rate this year. Not good,” Passan said. “I will say this, the positive regression is going to come in the form of runners being stranded. He’s got a strand rate right now of only 58.8%, league average is somewhere in the 70-plus range.”
Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
Seattle Mariners coverage
• Seattle Mariners place Gabe Speier on IL, add two lefty relievers
• The latest on Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh’s injury
• Seattle Mariners showing some concerning signs on defense
• Mariners prospect Felnin Celesten on a tear for High-A Everett
• What Mariners’ Emerson Hancock says has been key to his breakout
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