 |
| John J. Vecchione |
Washington, DC – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, has moved for summary judgment in Mossman v. CDC, the class-action lawsuit challenging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium order.
The case, currently pending review in the
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, disputes
the authority of CDC to impose the “Temporary Halt
in Residential Evictions to Prevent Further Spread of COVID-19.”
NCLA
represents blameless housing providers left powerless by CDC’s lawless order.
On
August 26, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court removed
a stay on an injunction that
had been entered in a D.C. District Court.
In
doing so on facts nearly identical to those in Mossman, the Court stated, “careful review of that record
makes clear that the applicants are virtually certain to succeed on the merits
of their argument that the CDC has exceeded its authority.”
That opinion further suggested, “The
applicants not only have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits—it
is difficult to imagine them losing.”
 |
| Jared McClain |
The Supreme Court’s ruling and the Biden
administration’s concession make clear—at last—that CDC lacked any authority to
issue the unlawful order.
Plaintiffs have been irreparably harmed by CDC’s ill-conceived foray into national housing policy.
CDC’s eviction moratorium prevented thousands of members of the
National Apartment Association and National Association of Residential Property
Managers from using lawful eviction procedures for over a year, which will cost
the members millions of dollars in unrecoverable losses.
NCLA’s clients will be unlikely to obtain any
economic relief or damages from their tenants, because, by definition, any
tenant presenting an appropriate attestation will be insolvent.
Many
Plaintiffs will never recover from the economic stress caused by the eviction
moratorium.
 |
| President Joe Biden |
The
issue is so clear, the injury to the Plaintiffs so egregious, and the binding
precedent so great, that the Court should promptly grant summary judgment on
the merits and declare the eviction moratorium unlawful.
NCLA released the following statements:
“Our
clients have been denied access to their property, refused any remedy for
non-payment of rent, and have been frozen out of court so their legitimate
claims could not even be heard.
This
lawless act was done without Congressional authorization by a bureaucrat who
pays no price for issuing this order.
 |
| Judy Pino |
"Enough
is enough. It has to stop now with a judicial order that prevents CDC and
the other defendants from ever pulling this stunt again.”
— John
Vecchione, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA
“The
case against CDC was clear from the day the agency issued its moratorium just
ahead of last Labor Day. Now, almost a year later to the date, we ask the
district court to follow the Supreme Court’s lead, declare the order unlawful,
and enjoin its enforcement nationwide.”
— Jared
McClain, Litigation Counsel, NCLA
For
more information, please visit the case page here.
CONTACT:
202-869-5218
