TN Property Owners prevail in Landmark Case
Federal Judge Sides with Memphis Property Owners and Strikes Down National Eviction Moratorium as Unlawful
U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris ruled Monday afternoon in favor of the property owners and managers who brought a lawsuit against the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Justice, Health and Human Services, and Department of Housing and Urban Development, finding that the national eviction moratorium which has prevented residential evictions since September 2020, is unlawful and exceeds the authority delegated to the CDC under the federal Public Health Service Act. Judge Norris struck down the eviction moratorium and declared it unenforceable. Judge Norris struck down the eviction moratorium and declared it unenforceable. In issuing his 20-page Order, Judge Norris stated that "[t]o hold otherwise would be to construe the statute so broadly as to grant this administrative agency unfettered power to prohibit or mandate anything…."
The case, Tiger Lily, LLC et al. vs. United States Department of Housing and Urban Development et al. was the first case of its kind filed anywhere in the United States to be filed on behalf of a broad and diverse coalition of business organizations and individuals owning and managing apartment complexes, duplexes, townhomes, and single-family residences. The Tiger Lily Plaintiffs argued that the government action exceeded its authority, was arbitrary and capricious, and infringed upon constitutionally protected liberties.