Louisville to pay $800K after court rules for Christian photographer

(ZENIT News / Louisville, Ky., 03.28.2026).- To conclude a lawsuit brought by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys, the city of Louisville has agreed to pay $800,000 in attorneys’ fees for violating the First Amendment rights of photographer and blogger Chelsey Nelson. The fee settlement comes after the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky held Louisville accountable for violating Nelson’s freedom to speak messages consistent with her religious beliefs.

ADF attorneys representing Nelson and her photography studio filed the lawsuit, Chelsey Nelson Photography v. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government, in 2019 because Louisville’s law threatened to compel Nelson to create photographs and blogs celebrating a message about marriage she does not believe and prohibited her from expressing her views on marriage on her studio’s website. The district court kept a permanent bar in place to prevent Louisville from enforcing its law against Nelson in this way, and the court also ordered the city to pay nominal damages to Nelson for restricting her past speech. Now, the city is paying additional attorneys’ fees.

“The government cannot force Americans to say things they don’t believe,” said ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart. “For almost six years, Louisville officials tried to do just that by threatening to force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs. Louisville’s threats contradicted bedrock First Amendment principles which leave decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. This settlement should teach Louisville that violating the U.S. Constitution can be expensive.”

Nelson’s victory builds on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, a monumental decision that held that government officials cannot force artists to create speech they disagree with. In civil-rights litigation brought against the government, it is common for the government to pay attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party.

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