Austin, Texas: Southestern Legal Foundation (SLF) and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) jointly filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order that violates the rights of property owners.
“The federal government cannot interfere with private property rights or our clients’ access to the courts to exercise their rights under state law,” said TPPF General Counsel Robert Henneke. “The CDC uses a facially absurd and twisted logic to suggest its intrusion into private property rights is a public health issue, which has inevitably and predictably allowed people to exploit the order. On behalf of our clients, we urge the federal judge to swiftly strike down this abusive overreach by the CDC.”
“The CDC nationwide eviction moratorium is an unconstitutional power grab, plain and simple,” said SLF General Counsel Kimberly Hermann. “The federal agency is using COVID-19 to grab power that Congress cannot even grant it. Intended or not, the CDC’s overreach will result in untold foreclosures and financial hardship to people who are simply trying to earn a living and pay their bills. It is in times of crisis when our constitutional protections are most needed and most vulnerable, for they are what set us as Americans apart from the rest of the world.”
TPPF and SLF represent a coalition of residential landlords and property managers challenging the constitutionality of the CDC order as beyond federal Commerce Clause powers.
Mrs. Terkel, the lead plaintiff, inherited a modest four-plex rental house in Tyler, Texas, but was denied her legal rights under Texas state law to evict a non-paying tenant because of the CDC Order, who continues to reside unlawfully in Mrs. Terkel’s house.