Case: Buck v. Gordon

1:19-cv-00286 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Filed Date: April 15, 2019

Closed Date: Nov. 17, 2022

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Case Summary

On April 15th, 2019, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (a Michigan foster care agency) and several of their volunteers filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. The plaintiffs sued the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiffs, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, claimed that the Attorney General and MDHHS had violated their Fir…

St. Vincent had contracted with the State to provide foster care services, including evaluating and certifying prospective foster parents. Because of its religious beliefs, St. Vincent refused to perform evaluations or certifications of same-sex couples. It did, however, match children with same-sex couples who had been certified by other foster care agencies. The Michigan legislature passed a law in 2015 to protect St. Vincent’s right to continue this practice. But after the general election in 2018, the newly elected Attorney General threatened to terminate St. Vincent’s if it continued to refuse to certify same-sex couples. The day after the case was filed, St. Vincent moved for a preliminary injunction to stop the State from terminating its contracts. The case was assigned to Judge Robert J. Jonker.

The dispute over St. Vincent's practices was longstanding. In 2017, the ACLU, on behalf of two same-sex couples, had sued the MDHHS for allowing St. Vincent to refer same-sex foster parents to other agencies based on religious objections. (See Dumont v. Lyon). After the new Attorney General was elected, she settled Dumont with the ACLU. The settlement stipulated that the State would prohibit all foster care agencies from turning away same sex-couples. St. Vincent did not join that settlement. Once St. Vincent initiated this second suit, the Dumont plaintiffs moved on May 21, 2019 to intervene in order to enforce the Dumont settlement. Their motion to intervene was denied on July 31, 2019, and the court denied their motion for reconsideration the following month. The Dumont plaintiffs appealed this decision later that month — the following year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the district court had abused its discretion by denying the Dumont plaintiffs’ motion to intervene. 959 F.3d 219.

While this was happening at the Sixth Circuit, at the district court level, St. Vincent and the federal defendants separately moved to dismiss the claims against them. On September 26th, 2019, Judge Jonker granted St. Vincent’s request for a preliminary injunction, preventing the State from suspending their contract with St. Vincent. The judge found that the State’s actions were likely an attempt to regulate religious belief in violation of the First Amendment, rather than an attempt to prevent discrimination. The Judge raised the fact that St. Vincent had matched foster children with same-sex couples as evidence that St. Vincent’s conduct was not discriminatory. He also focused on statements made by the Attorney General during her election campaign—including describing the plaintiffs as “hate-mongers”—that the Judge thought indicated a bias against St. Vincent’s religious beliefs. Finally, the judge held that the preliminary injunction would serve the public interest by allowing St. Vincent to continue to operate instead of burdening Michigan’s already stretched foster care system. With regards to the defendants’ motions to dismiss, the judge only permitted the claims brought by the St. Vincent volunteers to be dismissed.

The defendants appealed the order granting preliminary injunctive relief on September 26, 2019, and additionally filed a motion to stay the injunction on October 10. Judge Jonker denied the stay on October 22. The Sixth Circuit additionally denied the stay in November 2019. On January 6, 2020, the defendants moved to dismiss the appeal of the preliminary injunction, which the court granted on February 27, 2020. 2020 WL 1862309. The defendants also filed a motion to certify a question as to the proper interpretation of the 2015 law passed by the legislature to the Michigan Supreme Court because whether the law allowed the state to deny funding to the plaintiffs was “a foundational legal issue in this case.”

On March 19, 2020, St. Vincent filed a motion to stay the case pending the Supreme Court’s decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The district court granted this stay in May. At the same time, the court also denied the defendants’ motion for certification because the state law had no bearing on St. Vincent's federal claims.

In the meantime, the parties began engaging in discussions in an attempt to resolve the case. In June 2021, the Supreme Court held in Fulton that the government’s refusal to contract with child placement agencies unless the agency agreed to certify same-sex couples constituted a First Amendment Free Exercise violation. Following the Fulton decision, in January 2022, the court granted the parties’ stipulation to resolve all claims against the state defendants. MDHHS agreed to an entry of a judgment against them on the free exercise claim, and agreed that it would not take any action against St. Vincent if the latter did not perform certain services for same-sex or unmarried couples. However, MDHHS retained discretion to approve St. Vincent’s request to return the referral of a foster child previously placed with St. Vincent.

The federal defendants agreed to dismiss the case on the condition that the position of the case would be immediately reinstated, including the preliminary injunction order, should the defendants decide to take any action to enforce a federal law governing awards against the plaintiffs or the state of Michigan. Following the parties’ joint response, the district court dismissed the case on November 17, 2022. This case is now closed.

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Summary Authors

Jonah Feitelson (2/8/2020)

Brillian Bao (12/21/2023)

Catholic Charities v. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Eastern District of Michigan (2019)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14942374/parties/buck-v-gordon/

Judge(s)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Bloomfield, William R. (Michigan)

Attorney for Defendant

Bates, Christopher A (District of Columbia)

Boone, Precious Synott (Michigan)

Briggs, Elizabeth R. Husa (Michigan)

Expert/Monitor/Master/Other

Beeney, Garrard Russ (Michigan)

Judge(s)

Green, Phillip J. (Michigan)

Jonker, Robert James (Michigan)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Bloomfield, William R. (Michigan)

Coate, Jacob (District of Columbia)

Haun, William (District of Columbia)

Reaves, Nicholas (District of Columbia)

Rienzi, Mark (District of Columbia)

Windham, Lori H. (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

Bates, Christopher A (District of Columbia)

Boone, Precious Synott (Michigan)

Briggs, Elizabeth R. Husa (Michigan)

Drysdale-Crown, Cassandra A. (Michigan)

Giovanatti, Neil Anthony (Michigan)

Harris, Toni L. (Michigan)

Husa, Elizabeth R. (Michigan)

Long, Jeanne Frances (Michigan)

Smith, Joshua S (Michigan)

Sukkar, Anthony Joseph (Michigan)

Takemoto, Benjamin Thomas (Michigan)

Expert/Monitor/Master/Other

Beeney, Garrard Russ (Michigan)

Cooper, Leslie (New York)

Kaplan, Jay (Michigan)

Korobkin, Daniel S. (Michigan)

Lonky, Hannah M. (New York)

Ostrager, Ann Elizabeth (Michigan)

Ostrager, Ann-Elizabeth (New York)

Schnier, Jason W. (New York)

Siddiky, Leila R. (New York)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

	Document
1 1:19-cv-00286	Complaint Buck v. Nessel	April 15, 2019	April 15, 2019 Complaint
69 1:19-cv-00286	Opinion Buck v. Nessel	Sept. 26, 2019	Sept. 26, 2019 Order/Opinion 429 F.Supp.3d 447
84 1:19-cv-00286	Order Buck v. Nessel	Oct. 22, 2019	Oct. 22, 2019 Order/Opinion
19-02185	Order U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit	Feb. 27, 2020	Feb. 27, 2020 Order/Opinion 2020 WL 1862309
	Order U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit	Feb. 27, 2020	Feb. 27, 2020 Order/Opinion 2020 WL 1862309
19-01959	Opinion U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit	May 11, 2020	May 11, 2020 Order/Opinion 959 F.3d 219
113 1:19-cv-00286	Stipulated Order And Judgment Resolving All Claims Against State Defendants Buck v. Hertel	Jan. 26, 2022	Jan. 26, 2022 Order/Opinion

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Resources

Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
Buck v. Gordon ACLU	The ACLU case page provides a summary, legal documents, and press releases.	November 29, 2022	Nov. 29, 2022 https://www.aclu.org/...
Buck v. Gordon	Kristy and Dana Dumont, who seek to adopt a child out of foster care, were turned away from two taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies in 2016 and 2017 because those agencies had a religious objectio…	Nov. 29, 2022	Nov. 29, 2022 https://www.aclu.org/...

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14942374/buck-v-gordon/

Last updated June 24, 2025, 7:01 a.m.

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT against Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Alex Azar, Dana Nessel, United States Department of Health and Human Services filed by Shamber Flore, Melissa Buck, St. Vincent Catholic Charities, Chad Buck (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G) (Windham, Lori) Modified text on 4/16/2019 (ems). (Entered: 04/15/2019) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER 2 Exhibit B View on PACER 3 Exhibit C View on PACER 4 Exhibit D View on PACER 5 Exhibit E View on PACER 6 Exhibit F View on PACER 7 Exhibit G View on PACER	April 15, 2019	April 15, 2019 Clearinghouse
2	PROPOSED SUMMONS to be issued re 1 (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/15/2019)	April 15, 2019	April 15, 2019 PACER
	FILING FEE PAID re 1 by plaintiffs Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities in the amount of $400, receipt number 0646-4413741 (Windham, Lori)	April 15, 2019	April 15, 2019 PACER
3	NOTICE that this case has been assigned Robert J. Jonker ; with NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY re corporate disclosure statement (ems) (Entered: 04/16/2019)	April 16, 2019	April 16, 2019 PACER
4	SUMMONS ISSUED as to defendants Alex Azar, Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel, United States Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (ems) (Entered: 04/16/2019)	April 16, 2019	April 16, 2019 PACER
5	MOTION for preliminary injunction by plaintiffs Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities; (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order) (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/16/2019) 1 Proposed Order View on PACER	April 16, 2019	April 16, 2019 RECAP
6	MEMORANDUM in support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction 5 filed by Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5, # 6 Exhibit 6, # 7 Exhibit 7, # 8 Exhibit 8, # 9 Exhibit 9, # 10 Exhibit 10, # 11 Exhibit 11, # 12 Exhibit 12, # 13 Exhibit 13, # 14 Exhibit 14, # 15 Exhibit 15, # 16 Exhibit 16, # 17 Exhibit 17, # 18 Exhibit 18) (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/16/2019) 1 Exhibit 1 View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2 View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3 View on PACER 4 Exhibit 4 View on PACER 5 Exhibit 5 View on PACER 6 Exhibit 6 View on PACER 7 Exhibit 7 View on PACER 8 Exhibit 8 View on PACER 9 Exhibit 9 View on PACER 10 Exhibit 10 View on PACER 11 Exhibit 11 View on PACER 12 Exhibit 12 View on PACER 13 Exhibit 13 View on PACER 14 Exhibit 14 View on PACER 15 Exhibit 15 View on PACER 16 Exhibit 16 View on PACER 17 Exhibit 17 View on PACER 18 Exhibit 18 View on PACER	April 16, 2019	April 16, 2019 RECAP
7	CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT by St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/17/2019)	April 17, 2019	April 17, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Toni L. Harris on behalf of defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni)	April 23, 2019	April 23, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Jeanne Frances Long on behalf of defendants Alex Azar, United States Department of Health and Human Services (Long, Jeanne)	April 24, 2019	April 24, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Anthony Joseph Sukkar on behalf of defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Sukkar, Anthony)	April 24, 2019	April 24, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Precious Synott Boone on behalf of defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Boone, Precious)	April 24, 2019	April 24, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Joshua Sean Smith on behalf of defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Smith, Joshua)	April 24, 2019	April 24, 2019 PACER
8	ORDER regarding response to Motion for Preliminary Injunction 5 responses due by 5/15/2019; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 04/25/2019)	April 25, 2019	April 25, 2019 RECAP
9	PROPOSED SUMMONS to be issued re 1 (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/26/2019)	April 26, 2019	April 26, 2019 PACER
	SUMMONS NOT ISSUED re 9 as to Jennifer Wrayno due to not being a party to the case (attorney notified) (ems)	April 29, 2019	April 29, 2019 PACER
10	SUMMONS returned executed on Alex Azar, US Attorney and US Attorney General; service upon defendant, Alex Azar complete on 4/23/2019, answer due 6/24/2019 (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/30/2019)	April 30, 2019	April 30, 2019 PACER
11	SUMMONS returned executed on United States Department of Health and Human Services, US Attorney and US Attorney General; service upon defendant, United States Department of Health and Human Services complete on 4/23/2019, answer due 6/24/2019 (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/30/2019)	April 30, 2019	April 30, 2019 PACER
12	SUMMONS returned executed; Robert Gordon served on 4/19/2019, answer due 5/10/2019 (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/30/2019)	April 30, 2019	April 30, 2019 PACER
13	SUMMONS returned executed; Herman McCall served on 4/29/2019, answer due 5/20/2019 (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/30/2019)	April 30, 2019	April 30, 2019 PACER
14	SUMMONS returned executed; Dana Nessel served on 4/19/2019, answer due 5/10/2019 (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 04/30/2019)	April 30, 2019	April 30, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Christopher Alan Bates on behalf of defendant Alex Azar (Bates, Christopher)	April 30, 2019	April 30, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Christopher Alan Bates on behalf of defendant United States Department of Health and Human Services (Bates, Christopher)	April 30, 2019	April 30, 2019 PACER
15	PROPOSED STIPULATION and ORDER to Extend Deadlines by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 05/02/2019)	May 2, 2019	May 2, 2019 PACER
16	ORDER granting STIPULATION 15 ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, sdb) (Entered: 05/03/2019)	May 3, 2019	May 3, 2019 RECAP
17	ATTORNEY SUBSTITUTION adding attorney Elizabeth R. Husa Briggs in the place of Anthony J. Sukkar (Husa Briggs, Elizabeth) (Entered: 05/15/2019)	May 15, 2019	May 15, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Nicholas Robert Reaves on behalf of plaintiffs Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Reaves, Nicholas)	May 16, 2019	May 16, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of Mark Leonard Rienzi on behalf of plaintiffs Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Rienzi, Mark)	May 16, 2019	May 16, 2019 PACER
	(NON-DOCUMENT) ATTORNEY APPEARANCE of William R. Bloomfield on behalf of plaintiffs Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Bloomfield, William)	May 16, 2019	May 16, 2019 PACER
18	MOTION to intervene (expedited consideration requested) by movants Kristy Dumont, Dana Dumont; (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Proposed Answer) (Korobkin, Daniel) Modified text on 5/22/2019 (ems). (Entered: 05/21/2019) 1 Exhibit A - Proposed Answer View on PACER	May 21, 2019	May 21, 2019 PACER
19	BRIEF in support of MOTION to intervene (expedited consideration requested) 18 filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Korobkin, Daniel) Modified text on 5/22/2019 (ems). (Entered: 05/21/2019)	May 21, 2019	May 21, 2019 RECAP
20	CERTIFICATE regarding compliance with LCivR 7.1(d) re MOTION to intervene (expedited consideration requested) 18 filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Korobkin, Daniel) Modified text on 5/22/2019 (ems). (Entered: 05/21/2019)	May 21, 2019	May 21, 2019 PACER
21	PROPOSED MOTION to transfer case by movants Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont; (Korobkin, Daniel) Modified text on 5/22/2019 (ems). (Entered: 05/21/2019)	May 21, 2019	May 21, 2019 PACER
22	BRIEF in support of PROPOSED MOTION to transfer case 21 filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Korobkin, Daniel) (Entered: 05/21/2019)	May 21, 2019	May 21, 2019 PACER
23	CERTIFICATE regarding compliance with LCivR 7.1(d) re PROPOSED MOTION to transfer case 21 filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Korobkin, Daniel) (Entered: 05/21/2019)	May 21, 2019	May 21, 2019 PACER
24	MOTION to stay by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel; (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 05/22/2019)	May 22, 2019	May 22, 2019 PACER
25	BRIEF in support of MOTION to stay 24 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 05/22/2019)	May 22, 2019	May 22, 2019 PACER
26	PROPOSED ORDER regarding Motion to Stay Deadlines by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 05/22/2019)	May 22, 2019	May 22, 2019 PACER
27	CERTIFICATE regarding compliance with LCivR 7.1(d) re MOTION to stay 24 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 05/22/2019)	May 22, 2019	May 22, 2019 PACER
28	ORDER denying 24 motion to stay; terminating PROPOSED ORDER 26 ; the intervention and transfer motions can proceed on the Court's normal schedule without the need for expediting ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 05/23/2019)	May 23, 2019	May 23, 2019 PACER
29	FIRST MOTION to transfer case by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel; (Boone, Precious) (Entered: 05/29/2019)	May 29, 2019	May 29, 2019 PACER
30	MEMORANDUM in support of Motion to Transfer Case 29 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Boone, Precious) (Entered: 05/29/2019)	May 29, 2019	May 29, 2019 PACER
31	EXHIBITS re 29 and 30 by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - Mot to Intervene, # 2 Exhibit 2 - Complaint, # 3 Exhibit 3 - Order, # 4 Exhibit 4 - Def -Intv Mot to Dismiss, # 5 Exhibit 5 - Stipulation, # 6 Exhibit 6 - Order, # 7 Exhibit 7 - Gordon v Caruso, # 8 Exhibit 8 - Zide Sport Shop, # 9 Exhibit 9 - Tu Nguyen, # 10 Exhibit 10 - Brown v State, # 11 Exhibit 11 - Palmer v Schuette) (Boone, Precious) Modified text on 5/30/2019 (ems). (Entered: 05/29/2019) 1 Exhibit 1 - Mot to Intervene View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2 - Complaint View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3 - Order View on PACER 4 Exhibit 4 - Def -Intv Mot to Dismiss View on PACER 5 Exhibit 5 - Stipulation View on PACER 6 Exhibit 6 - Order View on PACER 7 Exhibit 7 - Gordon v Caruso View on PACER 8 Exhibit 8 - Zide Sport Shop View on PACER 9 Exhibit 9 - Tu Nguyen View on PACER 10 Exhibit 10 - Brown v State View on PACER 11 Exhibit 11 - Palmer v Schuette View on PACER	May 29, 2019	May 29, 2019 PACER
32	CERTIFICATE regarding compliance with LCivR 7.1(d) re FIRST MOTION to transfer case 29 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Boone, Precious) (Entered: 05/29/2019)	May 29, 2019	May 29, 2019 PACER
33	RESPONSE in opposition to MOTION for preliminary injunction 5 filed by Alex Azar, United States Department of Health and Human Services (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5) (Bates, Christopher) (Entered: 05/29/2019) 1 Exhibit 1 View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2 View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3 View on PACER 4 Exhibit 4 View on PACER 5 Exhibit 5 View on PACER	May 29, 2019	May 29, 2019 PACER
34	RESPONSE TO MOTION for preliminary injunction 5 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Attachments: # 1 Index of Exhibits, # 2 Exhibit A, # 3 Exhibit B, # 4 Exhibit C, # 5 Exhibit D, # 6 Exhibit E, # 7 Exhibit F, # 8 Exhibit G, # 9 Exhibit H, # 10 Exhibit I, # 11 Exhibit J, # 12 Exhibit K) (Smith, Joshua) Modified text on 5/30/2019 (ems). (Entered: 05/29/2019) 1 Index of Exhibits View on PACER 2 Exhibit A View on PACER 3 Exhibit B View on PACER 4 Exhibit C View on PACER 5 Exhibit D View on PACER 6 Exhibit E View on PACER 7 Exhibit F View on PACER 8 Exhibit G View on PACER 9 Exhibit H View on PACER 10 Exhibit I View on PACER 11 Exhibit J View on PACER 12 Exhibit K View on PACER	May 29, 2019	May 29, 2019 PACER
35	RESPONSE in opposition to MOTION for preliminary injunction 5 [Proposed] filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G) (Korobkin, Daniel) (Entered: 05/30/2019) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER 2 Exhibit B View on PACER 3 Exhibit C View on PACER 4 Exhibit D View on PACER 5 Exhibit E View on PACER 6 Exhibit F View on PACER 7 Exhibit G View on PACER	May 29, 2019	May 29, 2019 PACER
36	ORDER setting Rule 16 scheduling conference: Rule 16 scheduling conference is set for 6/26/2019 at 03:30 PM at 699 Federal Building, Grand Rapids, MI before Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker; status report due by 6/19/2019 ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 05/30/2019)	May 30, 2019	May 30, 2019 PACER
37	RESPONSE TO MOTION to intervene (expedited consideration requested) intervenor-defendants Kristy Dumont, Dana Dumont 18 filed by Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5, # 6 Exhibit 6, # 7 Exhibit 7, # 8 Exhibit 8, # 9 Exhibit 9, # 10 Exhibit 10) (Windham, Lori) Modified text on 6/5/2019 (ems). (Entered: 06/04/2019) 1 Exhibit 1 View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2 View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3 View on PACER 4 Exhibit 4 View on PACER 5 Exhibit 5 View on PACER 6 Exhibit 6 View on PACER 7 Exhibit 7 View on PACER 8 Exhibit 8 View on PACER 9 Exhibit 9 View on PACER 10 Exhibit 10 View on PACER	June 4, 2019	June 4, 2019 PACER
38	NOTICE of Related Case by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A) (Boone, Precious) (Entered: 06/10/2019) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER	June 10, 2019	June 10, 2019 PACER
39	MOTION for leave to file Reply Brief in Support of Motion To Intervene by movants Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont; (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - [Proposed] Reply Brief in Support of Motion To Intervene, # 2 Exhibit A-1 - Declaration of Kristy Dumont, # 3 Exhibit A-2 - Declaration of Dana Dumont) (Lonky, Hannah) Modified text on 6/11/2019 (ems). (Entered: 06/10/2019) 1 Exhibit A - [Proposed] Reply Brief in Support of Motion To Intervene View on PACER 2 Exhibit A-1 - Declaration of Kristy Dumont View on PACER 3 Exhibit A-2 - Declaration of Dana Dumont View on PACER	June 10, 2019	June 10, 2019 PACER
40	CERTIFICATE regarding compliance with LCivR 7.1(d) re MOTION for leave to file Reply Brief in Support of Motion To Intervene 39 filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Lonky, Hannah) (Entered: 06/10/2019)	June 10, 2019	June 10, 2019 PACER
41	ORDER denying 39 motion for leave to file reply brief ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 06/12/2019)	June 12, 2019	June 12, 2019 PACER
42	REPLY to response to motion 5 filed by Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - Roach Report, # 2 Exhibit 2 - Seyka Declaration, # 3 Exhibit 3 - Strachan Report, # 4 Exhibit 4 - Snoeyink Declaration) (Windham, Lori) Modified text on 6/13/2019 (ems). (Entered: 06/12/2019) 1 Exhibit 1 - Roach Report View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2 - Seyka Declaration View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3 - Strachan Report View on PACER 4 Exhibit 4 - Snoeyink Declaration View on PACER	June 12, 2019	June 12, 2019 PACER
43	JOINT STATUS REPORT (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 06/19/2019)	June 19, 2019	June 19, 2019 PACER
44	MOTION to dismiss by defendants Alex Azar, United States Department of Health and Human Services; (Bates, Christopher) (Entered: 06/19/2019)	June 19, 2019	June 19, 2019 RECAP
45	BRIEF in support of MOTION to dismiss 44 filed by Alex Azar, United States Department of Health and Human Services (Bates, Christopher) (Entered: 06/19/2019)	June 19, 2019	June 19, 2019 RECAP
46	RESPONSE in opposition to FIRST MOTION to transfer case 29 filed by Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 06/24/2019)	June 24, 2019	June 24, 2019 PACER
47	MINUTES of Rule 16 scheduling conference held before Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Court Reporter: Glenda Trexler) (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, sdb) (Entered: 06/26/2019)	June 26, 2019	June 26, 2019 PACER
48	(DISREGARD) LETTER from Clerk to attorney Leslie D. Cooper regarding mandatory electronic filing (ems) Modified text on 6/27/2019; letter was not sent (Leslie Jill Cooper, not Leslie D. Cooper, appeared at the 6/26 hearing) (ems). (Entered: 06/27/2019)	June 27, 2019	June 27, 2019 PACER
49	PROPOSED STIPULATION and ORDER Extending Deadline to Respond to Federal Defendants' Motion to Dismiss 44 by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Smith, Joshua) Modified text on 7/3/2019 (ems). (Entered: 07/03/2019)	July 3, 2019	July 3, 2019 PACER
50	ORDER granting STIPULATION 49 to extend Plaintiffs' and State Defendants' deadline to respond to Federal Defendants' motion to dismiss ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 07/09/2019)	July 9, 2019	July 9, 2019 RECAP
51	TRANSCRIPT of Rule 16 Scheduling Conference held 06/26/2019 before Honorable Robert J. Jonker, Chief Judge; NOTE: this transcript may be viewed at the court public terminal or purchased through the Court Reporter/Transcriber before the release of transcript restriction date; after that date it may be obtained through PACER; under the Policy Regarding Transcripts the parties have 14 days within which to file a Notice of Intent to redact, and 21 days within which to file a Redaction Request; if no Transcript Redaction Request is filed, the court will assume redaction of personal identifiers is not necessary and this transcript will be made available via PACER after the release of transcript restriction set for 10/14/2019 ; redaction request due 8/6/2019 (Court Reporter: Trexler, Glenda (517)819-0396) (Entered: 07/16/2019)	July 16, 2019	July 16, 2019 PACER
52	ORDER denying 18 motion to intervene without prejudice to the ability to renew the motion at a later point in the case; denying as moot 21 motion to transfer case; denying 29 motion to transfer case; Movants Kristy and Dana Dumont may participate as amici curiae; hearing on Plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction set for 8/22/19 at 2:00 PM; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, sdb) (Entered: 07/31/2019)	July 31, 2019	July 31, 2019 RECAP
53	RESPONSE TO MOTION to dismiss 44 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Smith, Joshua) (Entered: 08/09/2019)	Aug. 9, 2019	Aug. 9, 2019 PACER
54	RESPONSE in opposition to MOTION to dismiss 44 filed by Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 08/09/2019)	Aug. 9, 2019	Aug. 9, 2019 PACER
55	MOTION for reconsideration re 52 Denial of Motion to Intervene by amicus parties Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont; (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B) (Siddiky, Leila) (Entered: 08/09/2019) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER 2 Exhibit B View on PACER	Aug. 9, 2019	Aug. 9, 2019 PACER
56	BRIEF in support of MOTION for reconsideration re 52 Denial of Motion to Intervene 55 filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Siddiky, Leila) (Entered: 08/09/2019)	Aug. 9, 2019	Aug. 9, 2019 PACER
57	CERTIFICATE regarding compliance with LCivR 7.1(d) re MOTION for reconsideration re 52 Denial of Motion to Intervene 55 filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Siddiky, Leila) (Entered: 08/09/2019)	Aug. 9, 2019	Aug. 9, 2019 PACER
58	ORDER denying 55 motion for reconsideration; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, sdb) (Entered: 08/12/2019)	Aug. 12, 2019	Aug. 12, 2019 RECAP
59	NOTICE of Intent to Cite Document by plaintiffs Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Attachments: # 1 Attachment 1) (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 08/19/2019) 1 Attachment 1 View on PACER	Aug. 19, 2019	Aug. 19, 2019 PACER
60	NOTICE of Intent to Cite Supplemental Documents by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D) (Smith, Joshua) (Entered: 08/20/2019) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER 2 Exhibit B View on PACER 3 Exhibit C View on PACER 4 Exhibit D View on PACER	Aug. 20, 2019	Aug. 20, 2019 PACER
61	REPLY to response to motion 44 to dismiss filed by Alex Azar, United States Department of Health and Human Services (Bates, Christopher) (Entered: 08/20/2019)	Aug. 20, 2019	Aug. 20, 2019 PACER
62	RESPONSE in opposition to MOTION for preliminary injunction 5 (Brief Amici Curiae) filed by Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G) (Ostrager, Ann-Elizabeth) Modified text on 8/21/2019 (ems). (Entered: 08/20/2019) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER 2 Exhibit B View on PACER 3 Exhibit C View on PACER 4 Exhibit D View on PACER 5 Exhibit E View on PACER 6 Exhibit F View on PACER 7 Exhibit G View on PACER	Aug. 20, 2019	Aug. 20, 2019 RECAP
63	MINUTES of motion hearing re 5 MOTION for preliminary injunction filed by Chad Buck, St. Vincent Catholic Charities, Shamber Flore, Melissa Buck, 44 MOTION to dismiss filed by Alex Azar, United States Department of Health and Human Services held before Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Court Reporter: Glenda Trexler) (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 08/22/2019)	Aug. 22, 2019	Aug. 22, 2019 PACER
64	TRANSCRIPT of Hearing on Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction held 08/22/2019 before Honorable Robert J. Jonker, Chief Judge; NOTE: this transcript may be viewed at the court public terminal or purchased through the Court Reporter/Transcriber before the release of transcript restriction date; after that date it may be obtained through PACER; under the Policy Regarding Transcripts the parties have 14 days within which to file a Notice of Intent to redact, and 21 days within which to file a Redaction Request; if no Transcript Redaction Request is filed, the court will assume redaction of personal identifiers is not necessary and this transcript will be made available via PACER after the release of transcript restriction set for 11/21/2019 ; redaction request due 9/13/2019 (Court Reporter: Trexler, Glenda (517)819-0396) (Entered: 08/23/2019)	Aug. 23, 2019	Aug. 23, 2019 PACER
65	NOTICE OF INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL re 52 by amicus parties Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont [Attorney Jason M. Schnier added to party Dana Dumont(pty:am), Attorney Jason M. Schnier added to party Kristy Dumont(pty:am)] (Schnier, Jason) Modified text on 8/26/2019 (ems). (Entered: 08/26/2019)	Aug. 26, 2019	Aug. 26, 2019 PACER
	CASE NUMBER 19-1959 assigned by the Sixth Circuit to appeal 65 (mkc)	Aug. 28, 2019	Aug. 28, 2019 PACER
66	LETTER FROM CCA regarding appeal 65 indicating appeal has been docketed as USCA case number 19-1959 (ems) (Entered: 08/28/2019)	Aug. 28, 2019	Aug. 28, 2019 PACER
67	LETTER from attorney Ann-Elizabeth Ostrager for amicus parties Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont regarding ECF No. 62 (Ostrager, Ann-Elizabeth) (Entered: 08/29/2019)	Aug. 29, 2019	Aug. 29, 2019 PACER
	APPEAL FEE PAID re 65 by amicus parties Dana Dumont, Kristy Dumont in the amount of $505, receipt number AMIWDC-4527475 (Schnier, Jason)	Sept. 4, 2019	Sept. 4, 2019 PACER
68	NOTICE of Withdrawal of Attorney Joshua S. Smith by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Smith, Joshua) (Entered: 09/17/2019)	Sept. 17, 2019	Sept. 17, 2019 PACER
69	OPINION ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 09/26/2019)	Sept. 26, 2019	Sept. 26, 2019 Clearinghouse
70	ORDER granting 29 to the extent Defendants seek dismissal of Plaintiffs Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, and Shamber Flore under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2) and is DENIED in all other respects. Granting 44 to the extent Defendants seek dismissal of Plaintiffs Melissa Buck, Chad Buck, and Shamber Flore under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2) and is DENIED in all other respects. Plaintiffs Melissa Buck, Chad Buck, and Shamber Flore may proceed as amici curiae in the case. Granting 5 motion for preliminary injunction ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 09/26/2019)	Sept. 26, 2019	Sept. 26, 2019 Clearinghouse
71	NOTICE OF INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL re 69, 70 by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) Modified text on 10/7/2019 (ems). (Entered: 10/07/2019)	Oct. 7, 2019	Oct. 7, 2019 RECAP
	APPEAL FEE PAID re 71 by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel in the amount of $505, receipt number AMIWDC-4560060 (Harris, Toni) Modified text on 10/8/2019 (ems).	Oct. 8, 2019	Oct. 8, 2019 PACER
72	MOTION to stay re 69, 70 by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel; (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 10/10/2019)	Oct. 10, 2019	Oct. 10, 2019 PACER
73	BRIEF in support of MOTION to stay re 69, 70 72 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 10/10/2019)	Oct. 10, 2019	Oct. 10, 2019 PACER
74	CERTIFICATE regarding compliance with LCivR 7.1(d) re MOTION to stay re 69, 70 72 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 10/10/2019)	Oct. 10, 2019	Oct. 10, 2019 RECAP
75	ANSWER to complaint, 1 with defenses by Alex Azar, United States Department of Health and Human Services (Bates, Christopher) Modified text on 10/11/2019 (ems). (Entered: 10/10/2019)	Oct. 10, 2019	Oct. 10, 2019 RECAP
76	ORDER regarding response to motion to stay 72 ; Plaintiffs may file their opposition not later than 10/21/2019 ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 10/11/2019)	Oct. 11, 2019	Oct. 11, 2019 RECAP
77	ANSWER to complaint, 1 with affirmative defenses by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 10/11/2019)	Oct. 11, 2019	Oct. 11, 2019 RECAP
	CASE NUMBER 19-2185 assigned by the Sixth Circuit to appeal 71 (mkc) Modified text on 10/15/2019 (ems).	Oct. 15, 2019	Oct. 15, 2019 PACER
78	LETTER FROM CCA regarding appeal 71 indicating appeal has been docketed as USCA case number 19-2185 (ems) (Entered: 10/15/2019)	Oct. 15, 2019	Oct. 15, 2019 RECAP
79	LETTER FROM CCA regarding appeal 71 indicating appeal has been docketed as USCA case number 19-2185 and holding case in abeyance pending ruling on motion for say or modification of Court's preliminary injunction filed 10/07/19 (ems) (Entered: 10/16/2019)	Oct. 15, 2019	Oct. 15, 2019 RECAP
80	RESPONSE TO MOTION to stay re 69, 70 72 filed by Chad Buck, Melissa Buck, Shamber Flore, St. Vincent Catholic Charities (Windham, Lori) (Entered: 10/18/2019)	Oct. 18, 2019	Oct. 18, 2019 RECAP
81	MOTION for leave to file Reply Brief by defendants Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel; (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 10/20/2019)	Oct. 20, 2019	Oct. 20, 2019 PACER
82	BRIEF in support of MOTION for leave to file Reply Brief 81 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C) (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 10/20/2019) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER 2 Exhibit B View on PACER 3 Exhibit C View on PACER	Oct. 20, 2019	Oct. 20, 2019 PACER
83	CERTIFICATE regarding compliance with LCivR 7.1(d) re MOTION for leave to file Reply Brief 81 filed by Robert Gordon, Herman McCall, Dana Nessel (Harris, Toni) (Entered: 10/20/2019)	Oct. 20, 2019	Oct. 20, 2019 RECAP
84	ORDER denying 72 motion to stay; denying 81 motion for leave to file reply brief ; signed by Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker (Chief Judge Robert J. Jonker, ymc) (Entered: 10/22/2019)	Oct. 22, 2019	Oct. 22, 2019 Clearinghouse

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