MONROE – In a defeat for Louisiana landlords, a federal district court judge rejected a request to overturn an eviction moratorium put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana found that neither the CDC nor the secretary of Health and Human Services had exceeded their legal authority when the federal government imposed the eviction ban after the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March.
Although Doughty also found that plaintiffs Chambless Enterprises LLC and the Louisiana Apartment Association of Louisiana suffered financial harm as a result of tenants not paying their rents, the government’s obligation to stop the spread of COVID-19 takes precedence, according to the Dec. 22 decision.