Case docket

State of Florida v. Nelson — M.D. Fla., No. 8:21-cv-2524

State of Florida v. Nelson — 2 court filings in the archive, mostly from UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, filed between October 28, 2021 and December 14, 2021.

Case facts

Court	UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT (1 filing); U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Tampa Division) (1 filing)
Filings	2 public filings
Filed	2021-10-28 – 2021-12-14
Document types	complaint (1)
Original PDFs	2 of 2

Case summary

The State of Florida filed this suit on October 28, 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, No. 8:21-cv-2524, against Bill Nelson in his official capacity as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, the United States, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration and several federal procurement officials in their official capacities. The pleading is a complaint for declaratory and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, and it pleads ten counts. It asks the court to hold unlawful and set aside the executive order, the OMB rule and the FAR Council guidance, and to enjoin the defendants. On December 14, 2021 the defendants moved to stay all proceedings.

Case at a glance

Parties	Plaintiff: the State of Florida. Defendants, as captioned: Bill Nelson, Administrator of NASA; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the United States of America; Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President; the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council; Lesley A. Field; John M. Tenaglia; Jeffrey A. Koses; Karla S. Jackson; Shalanda D. Young; the Office of Management and Budget; the General Services Administration; and Robin Carnahan, each sued in an official capacity
Court and docket	U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, No. 8:21-cv-2524. The complaint's page stamps read 8:21-cv-02524-VMC-JSS and the December motion's read 8:21-cv-02524-SDM-TGW
Program	No pandemic relief program is named in the filings on this page. The suit concerns Executive Order 14042, the OMB rule and the FAR Council guidance requiring COVID-19 vaccination for federal contractors
Claims	Ten counts, including that the challenged actions are agency action not in accordance with law, failure to conduct notice and comment and arbitrary and capricious agency action as to the OMB rule and the FAR Council guidance, ultra vires acts of the President, and, at Count 10, a declaratory judgment that the challenged actions are unlawful
Disposition or status	No ruling appears in the filings on this page. The most recent of the two is the defendants' motion of December 14, 2021 to stay or, in the alternative, to extend the deadline to respond to the complaint
Status checked	2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read

What does the complaint allege?

That the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. § 121(a), does not authorize the vaccination requirement imposed on federal contractors, and that the requirement would be unlawful in any event. Florida pleads that the challenged actions rest on the Spending Clause yet ask it to agree to an ambiguous contract term, namely compliance with Task Force guidance that can be changed at any time.

What did the defendants ask for in December 2021?

A stay of all proceedings in light of the nationwide injunction issued in Georgia v. Biden, No. 21-cv-00163 (S.D. Ga. Dec. 7, 2021), which the motion describes as a similar challenge to EO 14042 and its implementing guidance. In the alternative the defendants moved to extend their deadline to respond to the complaint.

What relief does Florida seek?

An order holding unlawful and setting aside the executive order, the OMB rule and the FAR Council guidance, and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against the defendants.

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

Filings

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

2021-10-28ComplaintComplaint · PDF
2021-12-14Defendants’ Motion to Stay or Extend DeadlinePDF