Case docket
Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc. v. Biden, Jr. — U.S. District Court, M.D. Fla., No. 8:21-cv-02679-MSS-JSS
Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc. v. Biden, Jr. — 2 court filings in the archive, mostly from U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, filed between November 12, 2021 and March 25, 2022.
Case facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division (1 filing); UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT (1 filing) |
|---|---|
| Filings | 2 public filings |
| Filed | 2021-11-12 – 2022-03-25 |
| Document types | complaint (1), order (1) |
| Original PDFs | 2 of 2 |
Case summary
Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc. and Federal Employees for Freedom, together with six individual plaintiffs, sued President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force and the Task Force's co-chairs on November 12, 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, No. 8:21-cv-02679-MSS-JSS. The complaint challenges Executive Order 14043, which directs federal agencies to require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless a legally required exception applies, and pleads three causes of action for declaratory and injunctive relief. On March 25, 2022 the court denied the parties' joint motion to transfer the case to the judge assigned to an earlier-filed related case, and stayed and administratively closed the action pending the resolution of an appeal from a nationwide injunction against the same executive order.
Case at a glance
| Parties | Plaintiffs: Health Freedom Defense Fund, a Wyoming not-for-profit corporation; Federal Employees for Freedom, described in the complaint as a voluntary unincorporated association of approximately 6,000 federal employees; and six individual plaintiffs named in the caption. Defendants, all sued in their official capacities: Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States; the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force; Kiran Ahuja; Robin Carnahan; Jeffrey Zients |
|---|---|
| Court and docket | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, No. 8:21-cv-2679-MSS-JSS |
| Program | Not named in the filings on this page. The measure at issue is Executive Order 14043, "Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees," 86 Fed. Reg. 50,989 |
| Claims | Three causes of action for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief: violation of parts 293.105 and 293.504 of Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations; violation of Fourteenth Amendment equal protection as applied to the federal government through the Fifth Amendment; and violation of Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process as applied to the federal government through the Fifth Amendment |
| Disposition or status | Stayed and administratively closed by order of March 25, 2022 pending the appeal of a nationwide injunction against Executive Order 14043; the joint motion to transfer was denied and a request for a ruling on it was stricken as improper |
| Status checked | 2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read |
What does the complaint allege?
That Executive Order 14043's vaccination requirement for federal employees violates Office of Personnel Management regulations on personnel records, fundamental rights protected by the Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause, and that the plaintiffs are entitled to declarations to that effect and to preliminary and permanent injunctions against enforcement.
What did the court decide?
It denied the parties' joint motion to transfer the case to the judge assigned to State Department Employee #1 et al. v. Austin et al., No. 8:22-cv-364-SDM-TGW, finding that although both cases seek to enjoin enforcement of Executive Order 14043 they are not sufficiently similar to warrant transfer.
What is the status?
The action was stayed and administratively closed on March 25, 2022. The order directs the parties to file a joint notice and motion within fourteen days of the issuance of a mandate in the Fifth Circuit appeal from the nationwide injunction in Feds for Medical Freedom v. Biden.
Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.
Filings
2 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.
- Complaint — Health Freedom Defense Fund v. Biden (M.D. Fla.)Complaint · PDF
- Order on Motion to Transfer and StayOrder · PDF
Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.