By Jan Wolfe and Michelle Conlin
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of landlords on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to issue an order that would effectively end the federal government’s national ban on residential evictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
In an emergency petition, the landlord groups said a May 5 lower court decision nullifying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium should go into effect immediately.
Led by the Alabama Association of Realtors, the landlord groups argue that the CDC exceeded its authority when it halted evictions to help renters during the pandemic.
Despite ruling in favor of the landlords last month, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington agreed to “stay,” or halt, her ruling from taking immediate effect to allow the Biden administration to appeal.
“The stay order cannot stand,” the landlord group argued in their petition.
“Every day the stay remains in place, applicants’ property continues to (be) unlawfully occupied and their rental income continues to be unlawfully cut off,” the landlords added. “Nine months of overreach is enough. This Court should vacate the stay.”
The CDC’s eviction ban, enacted in September while former President Donald Trump was in office, is set to expire on June 30.
In a blow to the landlords, an intermediate appeals court on Wednesday said it would not lift the stay order put in place by Friedrich.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said in that decision that the CDC eviction ban was likely lawful, but has not yet issued a ruling on the merits of the case.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe in Washington and Michelle Conlin in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
