Court filing
Permanent injunction order — Agudath Israel v. Cuomo
Filed February 9, 2021 in Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo; one of 37 filings from this case.
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2021-02-09 |
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York · No. 1:20-cv-04834-KAM-RML · Doc. 44 · 2021-02-09 · Docket on CourtListener
Full text
1
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
AGUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICA, AGUDATH
ISRAEL OF KEW GARDEN HILLS, AGUDATH
ISRAEL OF MADISON, AGUDATH ISRAEL OF
BAYSWATER, RABBI YISROEL REISMAN,
RABBI MENACHEM FEIFER, STEVEN SAPHIRSTEIN,
Plaintiffs,
ORDER
20-cv-4834
-against-
Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the
State of New York in his official
capacity,
Defendant.
PERMANENT INJUNCTION ORDER
Executive Order 202.68 imposes (among other things)
capacity limitations on houses of worship operating in areas
that have been designated as red zones or orange zones. In red
zones, “houses of worship shall be subject to a capacity limit
of 25% of maximum occupancy or 10 people, whichever is fewer.”
In orange zones, houses of worship are “subject to a maximum
capacity limit of 33% of maximum occupancy or 25 people,
whichever is fewer.”
Defendant issued Executive Order 202.68 on October 6,
2020, and has extended its restrictions five times without
modification to the restrictions on houses of worship. It
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currently is effective through February 26, 2021.
Plaintiffs commenced this action on October 8, 2020,
alleging that Executive Order 202.68’s capacity restrictions on
houses of worship in red and orange zones violate the Free
Exercise Clause. Plaintiffs moved for a temporary restraining
order and preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of these
restrictions in red and orange zones. On October 9, 2020, after
an expedited hearing, Plaintiffs’ motion was denied in a ruling
from the bench.
On November 25, 2020, the United States Supreme Court
held that the 10- and 25-person limits in red and orange zones,
respectively, in Executive Order 202.68 were likely not “neutral”
or “generally applicable” because “essential” businesses and
certain “non-essential” businesses were not subject to the same
restrictions, and that the fixed person capacity limits must
satisfy “strict scrutiny.” Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn,
N.Y. v. Cuomo, 141 S. Ct. 63, 66–67 (2020) (per curiam). The
Supreme Court granted Plaintiffs’ application for an injunction
against enforcement of Executive Order 202.68’s 10- and 25-person
limits “pending disposition of the appeal in the United States
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit . . ..” Agudath Israel,
et al. v. Cuomo, 20A90 (U.S. Nov. 25, 2020).
On December 28, 2020, the Second Circuit held that “both
the fixed capacity and the percentage capacity limits on houses of
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worship” in the red and orange zones “are subject to strict
scrutiny.” Agudath Israel of Am. v. Cuomo, 983 F.3d 620, 632 (2d
Cir. 2020). The Second Circuit: (1) remanded the case to this
Court with directions to grant a preliminary injunction against
enforcement of Executive Order 202.68’s 10- and 25-person limits;
(2) vacated the October 9, 2020 Order to the extent that it denied
a preliminary injunction against enforcement of Executive Order
202.68’s 25% and 33% capacity limits on houses of worship; and (3)
with respect to those percentage capacity limits, remanded for
further proceedings consistent with its opinion, including the
application of a strict scrutiny analysis. Id. at 637.
On January 19, 2021, this Court entered an Order
stating: “In light of the Second Circuit’s decision on appeal
[26], the plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction [2]
against Executive Order 202.68’s 10- and 25-person occupancy
limits is GRANTED for the reasons stated therein.” On January
25, 2021, this Court scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing
for February 8, 2021, on Executive Order 202.68’s 25% and 33%
capacity limitations on houses of worship.
In light of the decisions by the Supreme Court, Roman
Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y. v. Cuomo, 141 S. Ct. 63 (2020),
and the Second Circuit, Agudath Israel of Am. v. Cuomo, 983 F.3d
620(2d Cir. 2020), specifically finding that “both the fixed
capacity and percentage capacity limits on houses of worship” in
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the red and orange zones “are subject to strict scrutiny,” 983
F.3d 620, 632, Defendant has agreed to an injunction against
enforcement of the 25% and 33% capacity limits in red and orange
zones, respectively, and has not presented additional evidence
to supplement what was submitted in opposition to the Plaintiffs’
motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary
injunction. Subsequently, Defendant’s counsel has represented
in status conferences that before the end of February 2021 EO
202.68 will be amended to remove houses of worship.
For the foregoing reasons, the court grants a permanent
injunction against enforcement of EO 202.68’s 25% capacity or
maximum of 10-people, and 33% capacity or maximum of 25-people
limitations on houses of worship, respectively in red and orange
zones.
This Order shall apply to Defendant and all officers,
agents, or employees responsible for enforcing Executive Order
202.68, and shall apply to the 10- and 25-person limitations and
the 25% and 33% occupancy limits for all houses of worship,
respectively in red and orange zones in New York State. SO
ORDERED.
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Dated: February 8, 2021
Brooklyn, New York
Kiyo A. Matsumoto, USDJ
Hon. Kiyo A. Matsumoto
United States District Judge
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