The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of a franchisor in a dispute brought by a prospective franchisee who alleged that he was denied a franchise opportunity because of his Jewish ethnicity. Domanic v. Christian Brothers Auto. Corp., _ F.4th _, 2026 WL 2934867 (5th Cir. Sept. 30, 2026). Christian Brothers Automotive, an automotive repair franchisor, franchises only to professing Christians. After learning that the plaintiff was Jewish, Christian Brothers declined to award him a franchise. The plaintiff subsequently filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, contending that Christian Brothers’ decision constituted unlawful discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and ancestry. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Christian Brothers, finding that the undisputed evidence showed that the decision was based on the franchisor’s religious qualification requirement rather than the applicant’s ethnicity or ancestry.
In reaching its decision, the Fifth Circuit emphasized that section 1981 prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or ancestry, but not discrimination based on religion. Although the court acknowledged that section 1981 may apply to claims involving discrimination against Jewish individuals where the challenged conduct is motivated by ancestry or ethnic characteristics, it concluded that the record supported only a claim of religious discrimination, which falls outside the scope of the statute. In part because the franchisor had granted franchises to two franchisees who were ethnic Jews but professing Christians, the court found no evidence that Christian Brothers’ policy operated as a proxy for discrimination based on Jewish ethnicity or ancestry and therefore affirmed summary judgment in the franchisor’s favor.