Gregory Lowrey, owner of the Happy Valley Tattoo parlor, argued that his business was part of his church, UBU Ministries, which includes tattooing among its religious tenets.
On an appeal to the Utah Court of Appeals, Lowrey contended that Jacklyn Johnson, who was an employee of UBU, was sacked for a just cause and that UBU, being a religion, was an exempt organization under the statutory definition and so was not required to pay unemployment insurance.
Lowrey did not present any evidence, apart from his own opinion, to support his claim.
The court found that Lowrey failed to prove any of his claims