Judge John Barker, appointed by Trump in the Eastern District of Texas, stopped before issuing an injunction, but said he hoped the CDC would respect his decision and withdraw the moratorium.
But on Saturday night, the Justice Department filed an appeal in the case.
“The Department of Justice respectfully disagrees with the district court’s February 25 ruling in Terkel v. CDC that the CDC eviction moratorium exceeds Congressional powers under the Trade Clause and the Necessary and Adequate Clause, and the Department appealed of that decision, “Brian M. Boynton, acting assistant attorney general for the department’s civil division, said in a statement.
“The decision, however, does not extend beyond the specific plaintiffs in that case, and does not prohibit the application of the CDC eviction moratorium to other parties. For other owners who rent to covered persons, the CDC eviction moratorium remains in effect . “
The decision punctuated a legal effort that began when a group of Texas landowners and landowners sued the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services in October over the eviction order issued by the Trump administration in September, temporarily suspending evictions during the pandemic.
The CDC’s request was set to expire at the end of December, but was extended until January by a clause in the second stimulus package. One of President Joe Biden’s first acts in office was to try to extend the moratorium again until the end of March.
The claim is invoked when a tenant delivers a signed statement to the landlord stating that he meets specific requirements – including that he earns less than $ 100,000 a year, has had a significant loss of revenue and has done his best to find a rental assistant to pay your rent.
According to the request, the rent is not canceled or forgiven and the owners can evict tenants after the end of the moratorium if they are unable to pay the rent late.
This is a last-minute story and will be updated.