Federal appeals court finds CDC eviction moratorium unlawful
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exceeded its authority by temporarily halting evictions amid the pandemic.
In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that the agency had overreached with its eviction moratorium, which is set to expire at the end of July.
The CDC order, originally enacted in September 2020 and subsequently extended by Congress and President Biden, aims to protect cash-strapped tenants who would face overcrowded conditions if evicted.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was among the majority, indicated that he believed the CDC had exceeded its authority in enacting the moratorium, and said Congress would need to pass new legislation for the CDC to lawfully push the moratorium past July 31.
According to Luke Wake, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents landlords in a number of challenges to the eviction moratorium, the 6th Circuit's ruling Friday increases the odds that the CDC will simply allow its moratorium to expire at the end of the month, rather than attempt to extend it further or mount an appeal to the Supreme Court.