U.S. Supreme Court urged by 22 states to maintain eviction ban
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[June 12, 2021]
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The attorneys general
of 22 states on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to end the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's pandemic-related
residential eviction moratorium that has been challenged by landlord
groups.
The landlords asked the Supreme Court last week to issue an order
stopping the national ban on evictions, which was first implemented last
September and is due to expire on June 30. CDC Director Rochelle
Walensky declined to say this week if the agency will again extend the
moratorium, saying discussions are ongoing.
Led by the Alabama Association of Realtors, the landlord groups argued
that the CDC exceeded its authority when it halted evictions to help
renters during the pandemic. The CDC imposed the ban to combat the
spread of COVID-19 and prevent homelessness during the pandemic.
Ending the moratorium "could force millions of vulnerable individuals
from their homes into the streets, crowded shelters, or into contact
with family and friends within or across state lines," the state
attorneys general said the court filing.
"An unprecedented wave of mass evictions - amid the embryonic stages of
the postpandemic recovery - would be catastrophic," they added.
The 22 states include California, New York, Virginia and Michigan, with
the District of Columbia joining as well.
The landlord groups said U.S. District Judge Dabney
Friedrich's May 5 decision nullifying the moratorium should take effect
immediately. Despite ruling in favor of the landlords, Friedrich agreed
to place her decision on hold to allow President Joe Biden's
administration to appeal.
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Protesters surround the LA Superior Court to prevent an upcoming
wave of evictions and call on Governor Gavin Newsom to pass an
eviction moratorium, amid the global outbreak of coronavirus disease
(COVID-19), in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 21, 2020.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
"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 wrote. "Nine months of overreach
is enough."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week
said it would not lift the judge's stay order. The D.C. Circuit said
the CDC eviction ban was likely lawful, but has not yet issued a
ruling on the merits of the case.
In the landlords' appeal, they said property owners "have been
losing over $13 billion every month under the moratorium."
The CDC has said 30 to 40 million people could be at risk of
eviction without the moratorium. Advocacy groups have said
low-income renters were particularly vulnerable.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Will Dunham and Chizu
Nomiyama)
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