Motion - U.S. NAVY DIVERS 1-3, Plaintiffs, v. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., in his official capacity as President of the United States of America (2021-11-24)
- Date
- 2021-11-24
Summary
A Motion for Leave to Exceed Page Limitation filed November 24, 2021 as Document 14 in U.S. Navy SEALs 1-26, et al. v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., et al., Case No. 4:21-cv-01236-O, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. The plaintiffs ask the court to let them file a 31-page Brief in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction, beyond the 25-page limit of Local Rule 7.2(c). The motion states that the case involves the Free Exercise Clause, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and military regulations, and that the plaintiffs seek to enjoin enforcement of a COVID-19 vaccination mandate against them without consideration of religious accommodations. It cites the number of plaintiffs and the complexity of the issues as reasons for the extra pages. A certificate of conference and a certificate of service are attached.
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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 14 Filed 11/24/21 Page 1 of 6 PageID 162
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH DIVISION
U.S. NAVY SEALs 1-26;
U.S. NAVY SPECIAL WARFARE
COMBATANT CRAFT CREWMEN 1-5;
U.S. NAVY EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE
DISPOSAL TECHNICIAN 1; and
U.S. NAVY DIVERS 1-3,
Plaintiffs,
Case No. 4:21-cv-01236-O
v.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., in his official
capacity as President of the United States of
America; LLOYD J. AUSTIN, III,
individually and in his official capacity as
United States Secretary of Defense; UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE;
CARLOS DEL TORO, individually and in
his official capacity as United States Secretary
of the Navy,
Defendants.
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO EXCEED PAGE LIMITATION
Plaintiffs U.S. Navy SEALs 1-26, U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen
1-5, U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1, and U.S. Navy Divers 1-3 (“the
SEALs”), by and through counsel, respectfully move this Court to allows the SEALs to file a Brief
in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction exceeding the page limitation set by Local Rule
7.2(c). In support of this Motion, the SEALs respectfully state:
1. Pursuant to Local Rule 7.2(c), “a brief must not exceed 25 pages (excluding the
table of contents and table of authorities) . . . . Permission to file a brief in excess of these page
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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 14 Filed 11/24/21 Page 2 of 6 PageID 163
limitations will be granted by the presiding judge only for extraordinary and compelling reasons.”
The SEALs believe that compelling reasons exist to grant leave to file a Brief in Support of Motion
for Preliminary Injunction of 31 pages.
2. This case presents several compelling matters of public importance because it
involves application of the Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution, U.S. Const.
amend. I, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq., the Administrative
Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-06, Department of Defense regulations, and Department of the
Navy regulations. See Compl. at ¶ 2.
3. Specifically, the SEALs seek to enjoin the President of the United States, the United
States Secretary of Defense, the United States Department of Defense, and the United States
Secretary of the Navy from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccination mandate against the SEALs
without considering or granting religious accommodations. Id. at ¶¶ 22-25. The SEALs sincerely
held religious beliefs forbid each of them from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine for a variety of
reasons based upon their Christian faith as revealed through the Holy Bible and prayerful
discernment. Id. at ¶ 57.
4. The Brief in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction includes a statement of
facts that presents the Defendants’ numerous vaccination policies and other discriminatory actions,
in addition to the sincerely held-religious beliefs of and irreparable injury faced by thirty-five
members of Naval Special Warfare Command units. Further, it provides a thorough analysis of a
multi-element legal standard for a preliminary injunction.
5. While the Plaintiffs have made a good faith effort to comply with the page
limitation, this has proven to be an extraordinary task given the numerosity of plaintiffs and the
complexity of the issues presented in this case. The SEALs respectfully submit that 31 pages is
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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 14 Filed 11/24/21 Page 3 of 6 PageID 164
necessary to provide this Court with a proper Brief in Support of Motion for Preliminary
Injunction.
WHEREFORE, the SEALs respectfully request that the Court grant this Motion for Leave
to Exceed Page Limitation and allow them to file a motion for preliminary injunction brief of 31
pages.
Respectfully submitted this 24th day of November, 2021.
KELLY J. SHACKELFORD /s/ Heather Gebelin Hacker
Texas Bar No. 18070950 HEATHER GEBELIN HACKER
JEFFREY C. MATEER Texas Bar No. 24103325
Texas Bar No. 13185320 ANDREW B. STEPHENS
HIRAM S. SASSER, III Texas Bar No. 24079396
Texas Bar No. 24039157 HACKER STEPHENS LLP
DAVID J. HACKER 108 Wild Basin Road South, Suite 250
Texas Bar No. 24103323 Austin, Texas 78746
MICHAEL D. BERRY Tel.: (512) 399-3022
Texas Bar No. 24085835 heather@hackerstephens.com
JUSTIN BUTTERFIELD andrew@hackerstephens.com
Texas Bar No. 24062642
ROGER BYRON Attorneys for Plaintiffs
Texas Bar No. 24062643
FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE
2001 W. Plano Pkwy., Ste. 1600
Plano, Texas 75075
Tel: (972) 941-4444
jmateer@firstliberty.org
hsasser@firstliberty.org
dhacker@firstliberty.org
mberry@firstliberty.org
jbutterfield@firstliberty.org
rbyron@firstliberty.org
JORDAN E. PRATT
Florida Bar No. 100958* **
FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE
227 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
Tel: (972) 941-4444
jpratt@firstliberty.org
3
Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 14 Filed 11/24/21 Page 4 of 6 PageID 165
*Application for admission pro hac vice
pending
** Not yet admitted to the D.C. Bar, but
admitted to practice law in Florida. Practicing
law in D.C. pursuant to D.C. Court of
Appeals Rule 49(c)(8) under the supervision
of an attorney admitted to the D.C. Bar.
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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 14 Filed 11/24/21 Page 5 of 6 PageID 166
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
Plaintiffs’ counsel were unable to conference this Motion with Defendants’ counsel
because no counsel has appeared for Defendants. However, once counsel for Defendants file
appearances, Plaintiffs’ counsel will confer with them.
/s/Heather Gebelin Hacker
HEATHER GEBELIN HACKER
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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 14 Filed 11/24/21 Page 6 of 6 PageID 167
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on November 24, 2021, I electronically filed the foregoing document
through the Court’s ECF system and will serve a copy on each of the Defendants according to the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
/s/Heather Gebelin Hacker
HEATHER GEBELIN HACKER
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