Federal Court Blocks Implementation of HHS Mandate for Illinois Law Firm

By 

Francis J. Manion

|
March 20, 2013

2 min read

ObamaCare

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A federal district court judge in Chicago today granted our motion for a preliminary injunction - blocking enforcement of the HHS mandate for an Illinois law firm that we represent.

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald A. Guzman granted our request for a preliminary injunction today in the case of Lindsay and Lindsay, Rappaport & Postel LLC v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

We filed the lawsuit last month on behalf of William C. Lindsay who owns the controlling interest in Plaintiff, Lindsay, Rappaport & Postel, LLC, and is its managing partner. The law firm primarily practices in insurance defense, insurance coverage, and appellate work, serving clients in the Chicago area and throughout Illinois for more than years.

Our client, who is Catholic, wants to manage and operate the law firm in a manner that reflects reflects the teachings, mission, and values of his Catholic faith. The lawsuit contends that the HHS mandate - which requires the law firm to purchase health insurance for employees that includes coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs - violates his religious beliefs and the Constitution.

Specifically, we contend the HHS mandate violates the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the federal Administrative Procedure Act.

We're pleased that the court today issued the preliminary injunction - putting the enforcement of the HHS mandate on hold for our client. The order comes just days before the law firm is scheduled to renew its health insurance coverage.

We continue to move forward in challenging this mandate. Today's court action now bring to four the number of injunctions issued in our six direct challenges to the mandate that we have filed in federal court.

We are also supporting other court challenges of the mandate and have filed 13 amicus briefs supporting other lawsuits.

Like our other challenges, we believe the HHS mandate is an unconstitutional overreach by the federal government.  The fact is the religious beliefs of employers must be respected by the government.  It is clear that employers like William C. Lindsay must be able to operate their business in a manner consistent with their moral values, not the values of the government.