Federal judge keeps CDC eviction moratorium in place
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Washington has denied a request to knock down a national eviction moratorium that has become a flashpoint of controversy for the Biden administration but again questioned whether the policy keeping millions of Americans in their homes would withstand further legal challenges.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich released a 13page opinion blocking the request by a group of Alabama landlords to put the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratoriumon hold for now.
The landlords had challenged the legal basis of the policy and asked the court to lift a judge-ordered stay of an earlier ruling
against the eviction moratorium following the administration’s decision to renew a modified version of the order on Aug. 3.
The decision points out what the judge said is the shaky legal ground propping up the national moratorium, arguing the policy represents government over reach.
But because of various legal challenges to the policy, as well as a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling leaving the first moratorium then in place, Judge Friedrich said, “the Court’s hands are tied” in lifting the stay since the latest policy is similar to the earlier version.
Friday’s decision adds another layer of confusion to the ongoing political and legal debate over the policy. Following Judge Friedrich’s order, the White House signaled the administration was gearing upto defend the moratorium.
“The Administration believes that CDC’s new moratorium is a proper use of its lawful authority to protect the public health,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. “We are pleased that the district court left the moratorium in place, though we are aware that further proceedings in this case are likely.”
The policy was initially enacted by the Trump administration as a public health tool for keeping Americans housed during the first waves of the contagious coronavirus pandemic. It allowed a renter to stay housed despite falling behind on rent because of COVID-19-related economic loss. However, the wording of the order left local courts wide room for interpretation, and evictions continued throughout the country because of loopholes.
Legal challenges further confused the picture. Landlords — facing their own mortgage payments, upkeep costs and taxes — became increasingly vocal about the undue burden placed upon their businesses by the moratorium. Lawsuits challenging the legal structures of the order resulted in a patchwork of decisions, many offering different interpretations.
In May, Judge Friedrich had ruled the CDC had overstepped its legal authority with the eviction order, delivering one of the hardest checks to the policy and vacating the moratorium.
“The question for the Court is a narrow one: Does the Public Health Service Act grant the CDC the legal authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium? It does not,” Judge Friedrich wrote in May.