Case: Domino's Farms Corp. v. Sebelius
2:12-cv-15488 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Filed Date: Dec. 14, 2012
Clearinghouse coding complete
Case Summary
On December 14, 2012, Domino's Food and its owner filed this lawsuit in the Eastern District of Michigan against the federal government under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and the First Amendment. The plaintiffs, represented by the Thomas More Law Center, a Catholic non-profit legal aid organization, seek to enjoin enforcement of provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) extending universal contraception coverage in employer-sponsored private health insurance coverage. The plaintiffs contend that this mandatory contraception coverage violates their sincerely held religious beliefs.
On March 14, 2013, Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff granted the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. Judge Zatkoff found that, while the question of whether or not a for-profit corporation possess free exercise rights is unresolved, Domino's Farms, distinct from its owner, may assert free exercise rights on his behalf. In this way, Domino's Farms Corp. is merely the instrument through which the owner exercises his religious beliefs. And because the contraception mandate burdens the plaintiffs' sincerely held religious beliefs beyond the least restrictive means, plaintiffs showed a high likelihood of success of the merits and would suffer irreparable without the injunction. On May 13, 2013, the government filed an interlocutory appeal with the Sixth Circuit challenging the preliminary injunction.
On June 26, 2013, Judge Zatkoff granted the parties' joint motion to stay the proceedings pending the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal's decision in two substantially similar cases, Autocam Corps. v. Sebelius, and Weingartz Supply Co. v. Sebelius. On October 23, 2014, following the Supreme Court's June 30, 2014 decision in Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius and subsequent decision to remand Autocam to the Sixth Circuit for consideration under Hobby Lobby, the government voluntarily dismissed its interlocutory appeal.
On December 3, 2014, Judge Zatkoff entered a permanent injunction and judgment against the government, based on the Supreme Court's decision in Hobby Lobby. The injunction protected the plaintiffs against government enforcement of the version of the contraception mandate that existed prior to the Hobby Lobby decision. Prior to Hobby Lobby, closely-held for-profit religious employers did not have an opportunity to notify the government of their objection to the contraception mandate, and compel the government to work with their insurer to provide contraception coverage directly to their employees. The decision did not preclude the plaintiffs from bringing suit under later versions of the mandate.
On March 9, 2015, the parties notified the court that they had reached an agreement on attorneys' fees and costs.
Summary Authors
Wyatt Fore (4/19/2013)
Richard Jolly (4/3/2014)
Kate Craddock (4/17/2016)
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4292151/parties/dominos-farms-corporation-v-sebelius/
Abdo, Alex (Michigan)
Abdo, Alexander Abraham (Michigan)
Amezquita, Hope Renee (Michigan)
Amanat, Farzin Franklin (Michigan)
Altmeyer, Helen Campbell (Michigan)
Abdo, Alexander Abraham (Michigan)
Amezquita, Hope Renee (Michigan)
Arterburn, Jennifer (Michigan)
Bloch-Wehba, Hannah (Michigan)
Cagle, Matthew Thomas (Michigan)
Castillo, Paul David (Michigan)
Choudhury, Nusrat Jahan (Michigan)
Clopper, John Dalton (Michigan)
Crump, Catherine Newby (Michigan)
Dalzell, Kathryn M. (Michigan)
Diakun, Anna Natalia (Michigan)
Dunn, Christopher T (Michigan)
Eisenberg, Arthur Nelson (Michigan)
Froehlich, Joseph T. (Michigan)
Gorski, Ashley Marie (Michigan)
Govorchin, A. Peter (Michigan)
Haddad, Richard Inad (Michigan)
Hafetz, Jonathan L. (Michigan)
Hofmann, Marcia Clare (Michigan)
Lapidus, Lenora Michelle (Michigan)
London, Ronald Gary (Michigan)
Lustberg, Lawrence S. (Michigan)
Manes, Jonathan Matthew (Michigan)
Mechak, Megan Kathleen (Michigan)
Meingast, Heather S. (Michigan)
Mersino, Erin Elizabeth (Michigan)
Nelson, Margaret A. (Michigan)
Opsahl, Kurt Bradford (Michigan)
Rocah, David Robert (Michigan)
Rothert, Anthony E. (Michigan)
Schwartztol, Laurence Michael (Michigan)
Spohn, Katherine J. (Michigan)
Spurlock, Matthew Douglas (Michigan)
Sweren-Becker, Eliza (Michigan)
Toomey, Patrick Christopher (Michigan)
Trudgeon, Sara Elizabeth (Michigan)
Wessler, Nathan Freed (Michigan)
Amanat, Farzin Franklin (Michigan)
AUSA, Joel McElvain (Michigan)
AUSA, Julie Saltman (Michigan)
Bagley, Nicholas J. (Michigan)
Beckenhauer, Eric B. (Michigan)
Bressler, Steven Y. (Michigan)
Buckingham, Stephen J. (Michigan)
Chaifetz, Samantha L. (Michigan)
Cherry-DOJ, Mary M. (Michigan)
Clark, Andrew Edward (Michigan)
Connolly, Christopher Kendrick (Michigan)
Crane-Hirsch, Daniel Kadane (Michigan)
Farber, Molissa Heather (Michigan)
Gallagher, Erin Healy (Michigan)
Gov, Adam Grogg-Federal (Michigan)
Gov, Michelle Renee (Michigan)
Guadagnino, Charles A (Michigan)
Gutierrez, Sandra Ema (Michigan)
Hall, Christopher R. (Michigan)
Hambrick, Jonathan Holland (Michigan)
Hikida, Katherine M (Michigan)
Hull, Joanna Berney (Michigan)
Humphreys, Bradley Philip (District of Columbia)
Inactive, Ann Elizabeth (Michigan)
Inactive, Michael A (Michigan)
Kell, Gerald Cooper (Michigan)
Kingsley, Benjamin S. (Michigan)
Kirk-Kazhe, Christina V. (Michigan)
Lantka, Peter Michael (Michigan)
Lawrence, Matthew JB (Michigan)
Leonardo-Beckmann, Diane C. (Michigan)
Lievense, Andrew J. (Michigan)
Lindquist, Susan J. (Michigan)
Mahoney, Kathleen Anne (Michigan)
O'Connor, Charles Michael (Michigan)
Pollack, Michael C. (Michigan)
Robinson, Stuart Justin (Michigan)
Rosberger, Richard Edward (Michigan)
Saltman, Julie Shana (Michigan)
Schumacher, Robert W. (Michigan)
Schwartz, Richard Adam (Michigan)
Sciarrino, Christine L. (Michigan)
Services, United States (Michigan)
Shaitelman, Kenneth L (Michigan)
Torrance, Benjamin Henry (Michigan)
Treasury, United States (Michigan)
Altmeyer, Helen Campbell (Michigan)
AUSA, Christopher R (Michigan)
Chung, Evelyn Hyun-Jung (Michigan)
Cranford, Margaret Terry (Michigan)
Dodson, Joe Michael (Michigan)
DOJ, Michelle Bennett (Michigan)
Edwards, Karla Jackson (Michigan)
Epstein, Matthew R. (Michigan)
Gillingham, James Garland (Michigan)
Goldsmith, Aaron Steven (Michigan)
Goldstein, Nathan P. (Michigan)
Goldstein, Elena Stacy (Michigan)
Jafek, Timothy Bart (Michigan)
Johnson, Jennifer J (Michigan)
Keen, Stanley Edward (Michigan)
Kopplin, Rebecca Michelle (Michigan)
Kruse, Elizabeth Marie (Michigan)
LeMar, Harold William (Michigan)
McEckron, Brooke D. (Michigan)
Mock, Jasand Patric (Michigan)
Moore, Christina Bahr (Michigan)
Moukalif, Monica R. (Michigan)
Nabhan, Colleen Backus (Michigan)
Oswald, Craig Arthur (Michigan)
Parker, Andrea Hedrick (Michigan)
Parry, Robin Springberg (Michigan)
Pharo, William George (Michigan)
Pomeroy, Richard L. (Michigan)
Rodenhausen, Patricia Manning (Michigan)
Shepherd, Matt Stephen (Michigan)
Smith, Mary Patricia (Michigan)
Snell, Kevin Matthew (Michigan)
Stark, Benjamin Andrew (Michigan)
Theis, John Kenneth (Michigan)
Wofford, Lindsay A. (Michigan)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4292151/dominos-farms-corporation-v-sebelius/
Last updated June 14, 2026, 6:03 a.m.
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Contraception Insurance Mandate
Key Dates
Filing Date: Dec. 14, 2012
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A for-profit, secular business, and its owner, who opposes the use of contraception for religious reasons.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Federal
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
U.S. Dept. of Labor
U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Religious Freedom Rest. Act/Religious Land Use and Inst. Persons Act (RFRA/RLUIPA)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Other Dockets:
Eastern District of Michigan 2:12-cv-15488
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed
Relief Granted:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Preliminary injunction / Temp. restraining order
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Discrimination Basis:
Reproductive rights:
Case Summary of Domino's Farms Corp. v. Sebelius, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/12717/ (last updated 4/17/2016).