Vaccine litigation update

Dist. Ct. for the Dist. of Columbia

Church v. Biden.

​The plaintiffs in this case include eighteen federal civilian employees[1] and two active-duty Marines[2] (collectively, "Plaintiffs"). By virtue of their federal civilian and military employment, Plaintiffs are subject to the recent COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed under President Joseph R. Biden's Executive Order 14043 and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's August 24, 2021 order for the vaccination of military personnel. Plaintiffs now challenge these vaccine mandates on constitutional and statutory grounds and request emergency injunctive relief preventing their enforcement.

For the reasons set forth in this Memorandum Opinion, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden of demonstrating a substantial likelihood of success that their claims are justiciable, a certainty of irreparable harm, or that the balance of hardships and the public interest weigh in Plaintiffs' favor. Accordingly, the Court will DENY their Emergency Application for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction.