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Home Court filings Brown et al. v. Azar et al.

Case docket

Brown et al. v. Azar et al. — N.D. Ga., Atlanta Division, No. 1:20-cv-03702

Brown et al. v. Azar et al. — 22 court filings in the archive, mostly from U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, filed between August 7, 2019 and January 6, 2022. Among them: 5 motions, 3 orders and 2 complaints.

Case facts

CourtU.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (12 filings); U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta Division) (5 filings)
Filings22 public filings
Filed2019-08-07 – 2022-01-06
Document typesmotions (5), orders (3), complaints (2), response or reply (1), memorandum or brief (1), exhibit (1)
Original PDFs22 of 22

Case summary

Richard Lee Brown, Jeffrey Rondeau, David Krausz, Sonya Jones and the National Apartment Association sued the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other federal defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, No. 1:20-cv-03702-JPB, over the CDC order of September 4, 2020 halting residential evictions for non-payment of rent. Their amended complaint raised eight challenges to the order; the preliminary-injunction motion advanced three, that the order lacks a statutory and regulatory basis, that it is arbitrary and capricious, and that it violates their right of access to the courts. The court denied the motion on October 29, 2020. The Eleventh Circuit dismissed the appeal as moot on December 29, 2021, and the district court then ordered the parties to show cause why the case should not be dismissed as moot.

Case at a glance

PartiesPlaintiffs: Richard Lee Brown, Jeffrey Rondeau, David Krausz, Sonya Jones and the National Apartment Association. Defendants: Alex Azar, in his official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and others
Court and docketU.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, No. 1:20-cv-03702-JPB; Eleventh Circuit Appeal No. 20-14210-HH
ProgramNot named in the filings on this page. The measure challenged is the CDC's temporary halt in residential evictions, 85 Fed. Reg. 55,292 (Sept. 4, 2020)
ClaimsEight challenges to the CDC order in the amended complaint, of which three were pressed on the preliminary-injunction motion: that the order lacks a statutory and regulatory basis under 42 U.S.C. § 264 and 42 C.F.R. § 70.2; that it is arbitrary and capricious; and that it violates the plaintiffs' right of access to the courts
Disposition or statusPreliminary injunction denied October 29, 2020; notice of interlocutory appeal and motion for an injunction pending appeal filed November 9, 2020; Eleventh Circuit granted the defendants' motion to dismiss the appeal as moot on December 29, 2021 in light of the final order in Alabama Association of Realtors v. HHS, mandate issued January 6, 2022; district court order to show cause on mootness January 4, 2022
Status checked2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read

What did the court decide?

That the plaintiffs had not clearly established their burden of persuasion as to any of the four preliminary-injunction prerequisites, and the motion was denied. On the authority question the order concludes that Congress gave the Secretary broad power to issue regulations necessary to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases, and that the CDC may take measures it deems reasonably necessary to prevent the spread of disease once it determines that state or local measures are insufficient.

What did the CDC order require?

While it was in place, from September 4, 2020 through December 31, 2020 unless extended, modified or rescinded, landlords were prohibited from evicting a covered person from a residential property for non-payment of rent. To qualify as a covered person a tenant had to give the landlord a declaration under penalty of perjury, including that the individual had used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance.

How did the case end?

The Eleventh Circuit dismissed the appeal as moot on December 29, 2021 following the final order in Alabama Association of Realtors v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and issued that order as its mandate on January 6, 2022. On January 4, 2022 the district court said it appeared the case was now moot and ordered the parties to show cause by January 18, 2022 why it should not be dismissed. No order of dismissal is on this page.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.

Filings

22 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.

  1. Order and final report and recommendationOrder · PDF
  2. Objection to motion to dismissResponse or reply · PDF
  3. ComplaintComplaint · PDF
  4. Motion for Temporary Restraining OrderMotion
  5. Amended ComplaintComplaint · PDF
  6. Brief in Support of Motion for Preliminary InjunctionMemorandum or brief · PDF
  7. Motion for Preliminary Injunction - Brown et al. v. Azar et al.Motion
  8. Motion for Preliminary Injunction — Brown v. Azar (N.D. Ga.)Motion
  9. Defendants' Opposition to Motion for Preliminary Injunction — Brown v. AzarPDF
  10. Amicus Curiae Brief (American Academy of Pediatrics et al.) — Brown v. Azar (N.D. Ga.)PDF
  11. Amicus Brief Appendix A (Expert Declarations)PDF
  12. Motion for Leave to File Amicus BriefMotion · PDF
  13. Amicus Curiae Brief in Opposition to PI (Housing Advocates) — Brown v. Azar (N.D. Ga., 2020-10-13, 1)PDF
  14. Amicus Curiae Brief in Opposition to PI (Economic Data)PDF
  15. Exhibit — CDC/HHS FAQ on Eviction MoratoriumExhibit · PDF
  16. Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction — Brown v. AzarPDF
  17. Order Denying Motion for Preliminary InjunctionOrder · PDF
  18. Motion for Injunction Pending AppealMotion · PDF
  19. Notice of Interlocutory AppealNotice · PDF
  20. Defendants' Opposition to Motion for Injunction Pending Appeal — Brown v. Azar (N.D. Ga.)
  21. Order to Show Cause (Mootness)Order · PDF
  22. Eleventh Circuit Order Dismissing Appeal as MootPDF

More documents from this docket

1 more document from the same CourtListener docket (gov.uscourts.gand.280996) is in the archive but is not among the 22 filings above.

  1. Brief of Amici Curiae of the American Academy of Pediatrics, et al. Appendix B Table of AuthoritiesMemorandum or brief

Other cases in the archive from U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.

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