By Candice Williams and Myesha Johnson, The Detroit News

A Dearborn-based company has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Ypsilanti Township, claiming that township officials discriminated against its Muslim owners by denying their plans to build a gas station while approving a similar project nearby for Sheetz.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Hewitt Property, LLC, alleges that Ypsilanti Township blocked its efforts to construct a gas station and convenience store at the corner of Ellsworth and South Hewitt roads, despite the project meeting zoning requirements.

Hewitt Property alleges that Ypsilanti Township officials engaged in discriminatory practices and deprived them of equal protection of the laws and subjected the

See Full Page