Nation’s leading RLUIPA authority has been honored since 2014

Media Contact: Barbara Fornasiero; EAFocus Communications; barbara@eafocus.com; 248.260.8466

Detroit —August 19, 2025 —-Daniel Dalton, a founding partner of Detroit-based business, land use, and religious land use law firm Dalton & Tomich, has been named to the 2025 Michigan Super Lawyers list in the practice areas of land use and zoning. Dalton has been included on the list every year since 2014 and made his first appearance on the 2009 list. Peer-influenced and research-driven, the Super Lawyers selection process recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in Michigan.

Dalton has a thriving commercial real estate practice representing developers, particularly in land use and zoning. Highly knowledgeable in municipal law, he began his career representing local governments in land use and zoning disputes. Dalton is also a national leader in religious property law and guides religious leaders and congregations with his expertise. With a masterful understanding of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), he handles the business side of religious property for all faiths to protect the religious organization’s right to use its property within the parameters of its spiritual mission.

For more than 20 years, Dalton has worked with churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and almost all types of religious assembly use throughout the country to secure site plan approval or litigate claims in Federal Courts. Starting with a case of a very small church against the City of Southfield, Michigan, Dalton has successfully represented all types of religious uses and schools in trial and on appeal across the United States. He also negotiates and litigates matters related to trust clauses for churches who wish to leave their denominations and keep their property.

A prolific writer, Dalton is the author of Religious Property Disputes and the Law: House of God. Laws of Man., published by the American Bar Association in 2022; the 2020 eBook about protocols for the United Methodist Church separation –What the Proposed UMC Separation Means for Your Church; and the 2017 e-book Navigating the United Methodist Church Trust Clause. His award-winning Litigating Religious Land Use Cases, was published by the American Bar Association in 2014, with a second edition in 2017.

The Super Lawyers distinction is one of several for Dalton and comes as he makes his debut appearance in the 32nd edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, also announced this month. He has been named a Go-To-Lawyer in real estate and a Leader in the Law by the legal trade publication, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, a DBusiness Top Lawyer, and a Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Executive in Real Estate. Dalton holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy Law School and a Bachelor of Science from Western Michigan University.

Active in numerous national and regional legal, planning and civic organizations, including past service as an elected official and planning and zoning commission member in his home city of Plymouth, Michigan, Dalton was recently named volunteer of the year by the Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce for his work leading Trinity Church’s food pantry. His complete bio and membership activities can be viewed here.

About Super Lawyers

Super Lawyers recognizes the top attorneys nationwide, selected from more than 70 practice areas and firm sizes, assuring a credible and relevant list. The patented multi-phase process includes peer nominations, independent research by Super Lawyers, and evaluations from a highly credentialed panel of attorneys. Learn more here.

About Dalton & Tomich

Detroit-based Dalton & Tomich PLC is a versatile law firm representing property owners in site plan approvals, zoning appeals and land use disputes involving zoning, easements, boundary line disputes and access to water. The firm also works with lending institutions and privately held businesses and nonprofits, often in a general counsel capacity. Further, serving as a partner to religious organizations, Dalton & Tomich is a national leader in religious property law land use, notably with cases related to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and denominational splits. Learn more about our services for businesses and religious organizations at https://www.daltontomich.com/.

###