A federal court ruled the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) overstepped its authority in issuing a nationwide eviction moratorium to stem the spread of COVID-19.
The March 10 decision in Skyworks v. Centers for Disease Control is a victory for a group of Ohio landlords and the National Association of Homebuilders, who challenged the ban in October. The ruling allows evictions to resume in much of Ohio, restoring landlords’ rights to remove tenants who don’t honor their lease obligation to pay rent. But the landlord groups among the victorious plaintiffs believe the ruling should apply beyond Ohio.
Judge Philip Calabrese’s declaratory judgment held that the CDC lacks the statutory authority to promulgate the eviction ban, writing, “Without question, effective pandemic response depends on the judgment of reliable science – not political science. But that obvious truism does not empower agencies or their officials to exceed the mandate Congress gives them.”
“This is a victory for the rule of law,” said Steve Simpson, a senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), which represented the landlords. “This decision makes clear that federal agencies can’t exercise power Congress has not given them. Now our clients no longer have to provide housing for free.”
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