Federal Judge Lawrence Zatkoff issued his order late Sunday, saying Thomas Monaghan had “shown that abiding by the mandate will substantially burden his exercise of religion.”

“The (federal) government has failed to satisfy its burden of showing that its actions were narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest,” said Zatkoff, a 1986 Reagan appointee. “Therefore, the court finds that plaintiffs have established at least some likelihood of succeeding on the merits” of their claim.

Monaghan filed the emergency petition this month, on behalf of himself and Domino’s Farms Corp., a Michigan property management firm he operates, not directly related to the pizza-chain empire. Monaghan sold his majority interest in the pizza company in 1998.