East Lansing to pay 6-figure settlement in Country Mill farmers market lawsuit

The city will pay about $42,000 in damages and another $783,800 to cover the legal costs of a vendor who sued the city for excluding him from the city’s farmers market because of his religious beliefs.

The terms of the settlement in favor of Country Mill Farms and its owner, Stephen Tennes, were disclosed in a final judgement entered Friday in U.S. District Court.

The order, signed by Judge Paul Maloney, includes a permanent injunction preventing the city from finding Tennes in violation of its vendor guidelines for declining to host same-sex weddings.

As of late October, the city had paid out more than $292,000 for its own legal defense, according to documents obtained under a public records request. That would mean the legal case has cost the city more than $1.1 million.

[This all started back in 2017 when Tennes wouldn’t hold same-sex marriages at his Country Mil center because of his religious beliefs. The freaks-out was off to the races. How delightful for him to prevail. ~ Beege]