KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A federal judge rejected a request to halt evictions after a tenants’ rights group in Missouri claimed Jackson County was violating a federal moratorium that aims to stop the spread of COVID-19 by preventing homelessness.
The ruling Tuesday comes in the lawsuit filed by KC Tenants and the American Civil Liberties Union in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Missouri, the Kansas City Star reported.
The lawsuit alleges Jackson County Circuit Judge David Byrn is violating a federal eviction moratorium by allowing eviction cases to go forward.
“We’re disappointed that we did not get a preliminary injunction,” said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri, which represents KC Tenants. “We understood at the beginning that it is very rare when federal courts get involved in state court proceedings. And we think this is one of the circumstances where that’s justified.”
U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs said the moratorium doesn’t stop landlords from filing civil action against tenants, only from removing them from their properties.
“This was not a final decision on the merits, the case was not dismissed and it still goes forward. And we think we have some strong, strong arguments to get released in the end,” Rothert said.
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