Fitzmaurice v. City of Quincy

Summary

The court held that the plaintiffs had statutory taxpayer standing to challenge Quincy’s expenditure of public funds on two proposed statues depicting Catholic saints. Applying the Massachusetts constitutional framework that considers constitutional text, history, purpose, secular and religious effects, and divisiveness, the court concluded that the plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on their claim that the statues would impermissibly favor Catholicism and subordinate other religions. The court therefore affirmed the preliminary injunction and the denial of the city’s motion to dismiss.