A federal judge this week suggested that “gamesmanship” may be a factor in the ongoing legal tussle between the federal government and U.S. landlords over Washington’s extended eviction ban.
DC District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich this week considered a request by a coalition of landlords to put a stay on the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest nationwide ban on evictions.
Friedrich suggested that there is “a degree of gamesmanship going on” with the CDC’s eviction ban, coming on the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling that directed any future bans to come from Congress, not the executive branch.
The judge nevertheless indicated that she may let the current moratorium stand given earlier rulings permitting the last ban to continue at least temporarily.
Landlords have argued that the ban is unconstitutional and is bankrupting property owners across the country who are incapable of collecting rent from reluctant tenants.