Filed Date: Nov. 20, 2013
Closed Date: 2014
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On November 20, 2013, Belmont Abbey College, a Catholic liberal arts college, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ("RFRA"), and the Administrative Procedures Act ("APA"), against the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury. The plaintiff, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asked the court for both declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging that federal rules adopted pursuant to the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) violated its religious freedom by requiring it to provide coverage for contraception through its group health insurance plan. Claiming that providing coverage for contraception would both contravene its Catholic faith and compel speech contrary to its beliefs, the plaintiff sought an exemption from the ACA's contraception mandate for itself and other institutions with similar religious objections.
The plaintiff's complaint was substantially similar to one it had filed in 2011, Belmont Abbey College v. Sebelius [II], which was dismissed on August 13, 2013 because the contraception mandate had not yet harmed the plaintiffs.
On January 29, 2014, the defendants filed an unopposed motion to stay this case pending the Supreme Court's resolution of Priests for Life v. Sebelius (later consolidated as Zubik v. Sebelius [II] , and heard by the Supreme Court in 2016). On November 3, 2014, the plaintiffs, for unspecified reasons, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice.
Summary Authors
Kate Craddock (8/7/2016)
Belmont Abbey College v. Sebelius [I], District of Columbia (2011)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4212348/parties/belmont-abbey-college-v-sebelius/
Cooper, Christopher Reid (District of Columbia)
Keim, Adele A. (District of Columbia)
Rienzi, Mark (District of Columbia)
Bennett, Michelle Renee (District of Columbia)
Cooper, Christopher Reid (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4212348/belmont-abbey-college-v-sebelius/
Last updated July 7, 2023, 3:05 a.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Contraception Insurance Mandate
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 20, 2013
Closing Date: 2014
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
The plaintiff is a Christian college that opposes the use of contraception for religious reasons, and therefore objects to the contraception mandate in the ACA.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit religious organization
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
United States Department of Health and Human Services (Washington), Federal
United States Department of Labor (Washington), Federal
United States Department of the Treasury (Washington), Federal
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Religious Freedom Rest. Act/Religious Land Use and Inst. Persons Act (RFRA/RLUIPA)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Issues
General:
Reproductive rights:
Discrimination-basis: