(MINNEAPOLIS) – A lawsuit seeking to invalidate Gov. Tom Walz’s executive order on an eviction moratorium must be dismissed, or an avalanche of evictions will occur that disproportionately impacts communities of color and those with disabilities, an amicus brief and letter of supplemental authority filed today argues. The documents also claim that if the eviction moratorium is not upheld, these communities will also see a tremendous spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths. Roughly 3,800 households in Minnesota are at risk of eviction.
The amicus brief and letter of supplemental authority were filed in United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Housing Justice Center filed the brief on behalf of several tenant advocacy organizations.
“Our marginalized communities have already felt the greatest pain of this pandemic, and if the eviction moratorium is overruled, this will just be another nail in the coffin of racial inequity,” said Sarah Carthen Watson, an attorney with the Fair Housing and Community Development Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Everyone deserves safe and adequate housing, and at a time of great uncertainty like this, it is important that Minnesotans be able to maintain their health and well-being. We will stop at nothing to ensure Governor Walz’s eviction moratorium is upheld, and Minnesotans can remain safely at home.”
The letter of supplemental authority cites data from two different studies and shows that in states where the eviction moratorium has expired, a connection has been found between evictions and increased COVID-19 infections and deaths. By allowing people to have their own space in which they can self-isolate and avoid needless interaction, Gov. Walz’s eviction moratorium has been a critical component of his pandemic response strategy.
Read the amicus brief here.
Read the letter of supplemental authority here.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
