Shareholders of a Colorado mortgage lender received a favorable appellate decision in their lawsuit that seeks to prevent implementation of an Obamacare mandate.
In March, the owners of Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Cherry Creek Mortgage Co. Inc. sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
The plaintiffs, calling themselves “believing and practicing Evangelical Christian[s],” sought a preliminary injunction against the government’s mandate to provide health insurance coverage for “abortion-inducing drugs, abortion-inducing intrauterine devices, and related patient education and counseling” as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
“Plaintiffs request a preliminary injunction against the defendants and their HHS mandate as it violates plaintiffs sincerely held religious beliefs and is thus a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the motion for an injunction stated.
But the request for an injunction was denied on May 10. The district court concluded that plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their underlying complaint.
On Aug. 1, the plaintiffs moved for an order reversing the May 10 order and granting injunction as a result of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals en banc decision in Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius.
On Thursday, the denial of the injunction was reversed by the 10th Circuit. The decision noted that the district court had not addressed other preliminary injunction factors.
“Upon consideration, we agree that plaintiff Cherry Creek has established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of its RFRA claim, and that the district court erred in concluding otherwise,” the decision stated. “Consequently, we grant the motion for remand, vacate the district court’s order, and remand for further proceedings consistent with the Hobby Lobby decision.”
