The Supreme Court on June 29 declined to grant an application to vacate a stay of eviction proceedings based upon the nationwide eviction ban imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The application was brought by the Alabama Association of Realtors, who contended that the CDC lacks the authority to impose such a sweeping moratorium, which implicates the property rights of thousands of land owners across the country. Although the court denied the Association’s application, four of the court’s more conservative justices—Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Barrett, voted to vacate the stay. Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s liberals denying the application, but his concurring opinion argues that the CDC exceeded its existing statutory authority in issuing the nationwide eviction moratorium. Kavanaugh wrote that the CDC plans to end the moratorium in a few weeks, allowing for “additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance funds.” Kavanaugh concluded that the CDC lacks the authority to extend the eviction ban past July 31 absent “clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation).” The case is Alabama Association of Realtors, et al. v. Department of Health and Human Services, et al., No. 20A169.
