‘Christmas Lawyer’ who made international headlines when his extravagant festive lights display turned his entire neighborhood against him gets an early present

A lawyer who became known as the ‘Christmas lawyer’ after A massive light show featuring a live nativity scene, a camel and 700,000 light bulbs drew thousands of visitors to his Idaho home, and his case could be heard by the Supreme Court.

Jeremy Morris from Hayden, just east of Spokane, Washington drew both the ire of his neighbors and the attention of Apple TV+, which eventually spotlighted the feud in the 2021 documentary “Twas the Fight Before Christmas.”

In 2017, a jury found that the Homeowners Association had discriminated against him because of his religious beliefs by trying to stop his Christmas decorations.

But a federal judge later overturned that verdict and ordered Morris to pay more than $111,000 in legal fees to the homeowners association.

Morris subsequently appealed the ruling to the 9th Court of Appeals, which heard the case in June 2020.

Four years later, a three-judge panel issued a mixed ruling, finding in favor of both the HOA and Morris on several points but clearing the way for a new jury trial.

Morris, meanwhile, is “absolutely” considering appealing to the Supreme Court first.

The Supreme Court receives more than 7,000 requests for legal action each year, but typically hears fewer than 100.

“It was made clear that a jury could find that a hostile atmosphere had been created, that our family had been discriminated against,” Jeremy Morris explained to Fox news about the decision.

“We can retry the case … and I believe we would win, just like we did last time. If we were to interpret this decision strictly, people of any faith can be discriminated against. You can admit that you are discriminating against them,” Morris said.

“We all know that no court would do something like that, but a court has just made it clear that you can do this to a Christian.”

The dispute arose after Morris made an offer on a house following his first light show at his former home during Christmas 2014.

When he informed the West Hayden Estates HOA of his plans to repeat the event, the HOA tried to prevent it, saying it would potentially violate community regulations regarding size, noise, and brightness.

The Owners’ Association was also concerned about the impact of the event on ‘non-Christians’ and the possibility that it would attract ‘undesirable groups’.

Morris argued that the Homeowners Association’s actions amounted to religious discrimination and moved into the house.

Despite legal threats from the Owners’ Association (VvE), he continued his elaborate light show, consisting of 200,000 lights, costumed characters, musicians, a children’s choir, a living nativity scene and even a camel.

Morris even hired a fleet of shuttle buses to ferry visitors to the event, while recruiting volunteers to direct traffic on the streets around his home.

Thousands of people from far and wide, including Canada, and news crews from around the world gathered over five evenings to view the exhibition, which raised money for children’s charities.

The conflict then escalated with reports of intimidation and threats against Morris and his family.

Neighbors were accused of harassing bystanders, while another resident was captured on camera offering to “take care of him.”

In January 2017, Morris filed a lawsuit against the Homeowners Association (HOA) for religious discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

Although a jury initially sided with Morris, the court ordered the homeowners association to pay him $75,000.

Neighbors portrayed Morris as an extremist bully who secretly recorded their conversations and obsessively documented alleged rule violations by other HOA members to bolster his case.

When they appealed the decision, In a shocking twist, Judge B. Lynn Winmill subsequently overturned the verdict, arguing that the Morrises had violated neighborhood laws, not religious discrimination. He ordered Morris to pay the homeowners association’s legal fees, which totaled $111,000.

Winmill said the secret recordings showed Morris behaving in an “aggressively confrontational” manner and issued a permanent ban on him putting up any Christmas decorations without permission from the homeowners’ association.

The 9th Circuit’s recent ruling has now upheld the judge’s reversal of the judgment, but also found evidence that the HOA’s actions were motivated in part by Morris’ religious expressions.

The verdict was divided: a judge who disagreed stated that the Owners’ Association had acted primarily to make the Morris family unwelcome.

The Homeowners Association “categorically denies that it has infringed on the Morrises’ right to purchase and enjoy their home without discrimination and has always strived to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all residents,” attorney Peter Smith wrote in a statement to Fox news.

“We look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate in court that the Association acted lawfully. We are confident that the legal process will ultimately exonerate the Association and demonstrate that it did not create a hostile environment for the Morrises.”

Despite the fact that the Owners’ Association denies that there are any discriminatory practices, the legal battle continues.

At one point, Morris said he didn’t want to take legal action and even offered to give up his rights to proceed with a lawsuit if the HOA would agree to leave his family alone. But the HOA refused.

Morris, who has since moved from Idaho, also plans to sue the Idaho State Bar for $10 million, alleging the organization pressured him to give up his law license in exchange for dropping disciplinary charges related to comments he made about the judge in his case.