Louisiana landlords ask 5th Circuit to block eviction moratorium

Monroe, Louisiana; August 18, 2021: A group of Louisiana landlords asked for an immediate injunction against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nationwide eviction moratorium while the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals considers an appeal from the landlords.

Despite assurances made to the U.S. Supreme Court that the moratorium wouldn’t be extended, multiple admissions from the Biden administration that extending the eviction moratorium would be illegal, and Congress’ decision not to extend the moratorium, the CDC renewed the eviction moratorium earlier this month.

“The CDC’s eviction moratorium is illegal, and the Biden administration knows it,” said Luke Wake, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents landlords who are challenging the eviction moratorium, including those in Louisiana. “This is not a public health measure, but a cynical bow to pressure from favored interest groups. The moratorium exists only because Justice Kavanaugh didn’t vote to suspend it, and President Biden knows the CDC can get away with enforcing it for now. The illegal moratorium is harming landlords and the housing market, and the courts need to put an end to it.”

Pacific Legal Foundation filed two lawsuits against the CDC moratorium on behalf of landlords who argue that the moratorium violates the Constitution’s separation of powers by circumventing Congress. One, Skyworks v. CDC, was the first lawsuit in the nation in which a court ruled that the CDC lacked statutory authority to enact the eviction ban.