The Third Amended Complaint has been filed in Darby Development v. United States. If you are not a plaintiff in the suit but are interested in pursuing a claim arising out of the CDC eviction moratorium, please contact us.
In the summer of 2020, in the midst of COVID concerns, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued emergency regulations imposing an eviction moratorium that prohibited landlords from evicting tenants who had not made rental payments.
It has now been determined that the CDC eviction moratorium was unconstitutional and illegal. Owners of rental property who were affected by the CDC eviction moratorium are eligible to receive compensation for damages.
The 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution protects United States citizens’ rights to personal property among other things. Included in the 5th Amendment is the “Takings Clause”. The Takings Clause states that private property cannot be taken for public use without just compensation. It is considered a basic liberty and a primary limitation on the government’s ability to restrict private property use.
The CDC Eviction Moratorium violated the Takings Clause and was therefore unconstitutional and illegal because rental housing owners were not compensated for their damages.
How much any plaintiff can recover will depend upon the amount of the net financial loss suffered. However, if you do not join the lawsuit by signing up here, you will not be eligible for any payment. Our attorneys are negotiating a settlement with department of Justice. We believe this will be resolved in the settlement this year.
This lawsuit was filed in 2020. While no one can predict the length of any specific litigation, the deadline to be included as a plaintiff is September 1, 2026.
In other words, to be eligible for any legal payment, one must join the lawsuit as a plaintiff no later than September 1, 2026, because the statute of limitations will bar any claims filed after that date.
In our case, the judge has ruled that no additional plaintiff can join the lawsuit after April 10, 2026.
There will be no trial on liability because of the ruling by the Federal Circuit that liability is established as an uncompensated taking under the Fifth Amendment.
There are now 1225 plaintiff companies. If a settlement on damages is reached, there will be no trial on damages.
We are engaged in settlement negotiations with DOJ lawyers and hope to achieve a settlement before the end of the second quarter 2026. A settlement would end the lawsuit and clear the way for payments to the plaintiffs.
Any rental property owner who was damaged by the CDC eviction moratorium can join the case. However, if you have properties in states or other locales that enacted more stringent eviction restrictions than those imposed by the CDC, you will not be able to participate in this lawsuit with respect to those properties.
The states that have more stringent eviction restrictions and are not included in this lawsuit are as follows:
California
Delaware
Washington, D.C.
Hawaii
Illinois
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Rhode Island
Vermont
Washington
There is no cost to join the lawsuit. Any recovery received as a result of the lawsuit will be reduced by a 20% contingency fee paid to the attorneys. Administration of costs will be divided among all plaintiffs, as we now have over 1200 plaintiffs. Those costs are expected to be less then $250 per client.
There is no risk that the case will be unsuccessful because the court has ruled that the moratorium was illegal.
If you suffered minimal damages as a result of the moratorium, there is a business decision whether the effort of assembling the claim is worth the recovery.
Please contact John McDermott at jmcdermott@naahq.org
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John McDermott
“John McDermott enjoyed a career as a trial lawyer first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and later in private practice with law firms and later as a sole practitioner. ”
Creighton R. Magid
“For over 35 years, Chip’s clients have benefitted from his tenacity, creativity, insight, and strategic thinking in handling high-stakes lawsuits.
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