Case: Schiff v. U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1:25-cv-10595 | U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Filed Date: March 12, 2025

Case Ongoing

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Case Summary

This case challenges the removal of medical articles from federal government websites. On March 12, 2025, two doctors filed this lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts. They named the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and their corresponding agency heads as Defendants. The Plaintiffs published peer-reviewed articles on a government-run patient safety website, and the…

This case challenges the removal of medical articles from federal government websites. On March 12, 2025, two doctors filed this lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts. They named the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and their corresponding agency heads as Defendants.

The Plaintiffs published peer-reviewed articles on a government-run patient safety website, and they alleged that the government removed their articles on how to better diagnose patients solely because the articles contained the terms "LGBTQ" and "transgender." Their articles were removed pursuant to Executive Order 14168 and subsequent OPM guidance directing all departments to “[t]ake down all outward facing media . . . that inculcate or promote gender ideology.” The Plaintiffs challenged the OPM guidance and the removal of their articles, alleging that such actions violated the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The Plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU of Massachusetts, ACLU National, and Yale Law School's Media Freedom clinic, sought declaratory and injunctive relief. 

The case was assigned to Judge Leo T. Soroki. 

This case is ongoing. 

Summary Authors

Oliver Farnum (3/21/2025)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69729077/parties/schiff-v-us-office-of-personnel-management/


Judge(s)
Attorney for Plaintiff

Davidson, Rachel Elizabeth (Massachusetts)

Eidelman, Vera (Massachusetts)

Kim, Scarlet (Massachusetts)

Kreitenberg, Zoe (Massachusetts)

Langford, John (Massachusetts)

Attorney for Defendant

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document
1

1:25-cv-10595

Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief

March 12, 2025

March 12, 2025

Complaint
35

1:25-cv-10595

Order

April 15, 2025

April 15, 2025

Resources

Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69729077/schiff-v-us-office-of-personnel-management/

Last updated April 21, 2025, 9:35 p.m.

ECF Number Description Date Link Date / Link
1

COMPLAINT against All Defendants Filing fee: $ 405, receipt number AMADC-10887631 (Fee Status: Filing Fee paid), filed by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet Exhibit A - Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Category Form Exhibit B - Category Form)(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/12/2025)

1 Civil Cover Sheet Exhibit A - Civil Cover Sheet

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2 Category Form Exhibit B - Category Form

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March 12, 2025

March 12, 2025

Clearinghouse

Notice of Case Assignment

March 12, 2025

March 12, 2025

PACER
2

NOTICE of Appearance by Rachel Elizabeth Davidson on behalf of Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce (Davidson, Rachel) (Entered: 03/12/2025)

March 12, 2025

March 12, 2025

PACER
3

ELECTRONIC NOTICE of Case Assignment. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin assigned to case. If the trial Judge issues an Order of Reference of any matter in this case to a Magistrate Judge, the matter will be transmitted to Magistrate Judge Jessica D. Hedges. (NMC) (Entered: 03/12/2025)

March 12, 2025

March 12, 2025

PACER
4

Summons Issued as to Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Charles Ezell, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Mamatha S. Pancholi, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Counsel receiving this notice electronically should download this summons, complete one for each defendant and serve it in accordance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 4 and LR 4.1. Summons will be mailed to plaintiff(s) not receiving notice electronically for completion of service. (LBO) (Entered: 03/13/2025)

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

PACER
5

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of Vera Eidelman Filing fee: $ 125, receipt number AMADC-10893251 by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate -)(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/14/2025)

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER
6

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of Scarlet Kim Filing fee: $ 125, receipt number AMADC-10893311 by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Certificate)(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/14/2025)

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER
7

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of Tyler Takemoto Filing fee: $ 125, receipt number AMADC-10893336 by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Certificate)(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/14/2025)

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER
8

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of John Langford Filing fee: $ 125, receipt number AMADC-10893346 by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Certificate)(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/14/2025)

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER
9

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice for admission of David Schulz Filing fee: $ 125, receipt number AMADC-10893412 by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Certificate)(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/14/2025)

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER
10

MOTION for Leave to File Appearance as Supervised Law Students by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce.(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/14/2025)

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER
11

MEMORANDUM in Support re 10 MOTION for Leave to File Appearance as Supervised Law Students filed by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Client Certification, # 2 Exhibit B - Deans Certification, # 3 Exhibit C - B.Menke Student Certification, # 4 Exhibit D - B.Morales Student Certification, # 5 Exhibit E - J.Lin Student Certification)(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/14/2025)

1 Exhibit A - Client Certification

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2 Exhibit B - Deans Certification

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3 Exhibit C - B.Menke Student Certification

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4 Exhibit D - B.Morales Student Certification

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5 Exhibit E - J.Lin Student Certification

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March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER
12

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting 5 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added Vera Eidelman. Attorneys admitted Pro Hac Vice must have an individual PACER account, not a shared firm account, to electronically file in the District of Massachusetts. To register for a PACER account, go the Pacer website at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/register-account. You must put the docket number under ADDITIONAL FILER INFORMATION on your form when registering or it will be rejected.Pro Hac Vice Admission Request Instructions https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/caseinfo/nextgen-pro-hac-vice.htm.A Notice of Appearance must be entered on the docket by the newly admitted attorney. (FGD) (Entered: 03/17/2025)

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

PACER

Order on Motion for Leave to Appear

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

PACER
13

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting 6 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added Scarlet Kim. Attorneys admitted Pro Hac Vice must have an individual PACER account, not a shared firm account, to electronically file in the District of Massachusetts. To register for a PACER account, go the Pacer website at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/register-account. You must put the docket number under ADDITIONAL FILER INFORMATION on your form when registering or it will be rejected.Pro Hac Vice Admission Request Instructions https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/caseinfo/nextgen-pro-hac-vice.htm.A Notice of Appearance must be entered on the docket by the newly admitted attorney. (FGD) (Entered: 03/17/2025)

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

PACER
14

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting 7 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added Tyler Takemoto. Attorneys admitted Pro Hac Vice must have an individual PACER account, not a shared firm account, to electronically file in the District of Massachusetts. To register for a PACER account, go the Pacer website at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/register-account. You must put the docket number under ADDITIONAL FILER INFORMATION on your form when registering or it will be rejected.Pro Hac Vice Admission Request Instructions https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/caseinfo/nextgen-pro-hac-vice.htm.A Notice of Appearance must be entered on the docket by the newly admitted attorney. (FGD) (Entered: 03/17/2025)

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

PACER
15

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting 8 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added John Langford. Attorneys admitted Pro Hac Vice must have an individual PACER account, not a shared firm account, to electronically file in the District of Massachusetts. To register for a PACER account, go the Pacer website at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/register-account. You must put the docket number under ADDITIONAL FILER INFORMATION on your form when registering or it will be rejected.Pro Hac Vice Admission Request Instructions https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/caseinfo/nextgen-pro-hac-vice.htm.A Notice of Appearance must be entered on the docket by the newly admitted attorney. (FGD) (Entered: 03/17/2025)

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

PACER
16

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting 9 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Added David Schulz. Attorneys admitted Pro Hac Vice must have an individual PACER account, not a shared firm account, to electronically file in the District of Massachusetts. To register for a PACER account, go the Pacer website at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/register-account. You must put the docket number under ADDITIONAL FILER INFORMATION on your form when registering or it will be rejected.Pro Hac Vice Admission Request Instructions https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/caseinfo/nextgen-pro-hac-vice.htm.A Notice of Appearance must be entered on the docket by the newly admitted attorney. (FGD) (Entered: 03/17/2025)

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

PACER
17

NOTICE of Appearance by Zoe Kreitenberg on behalf of Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce (Kreitenberg, Zoe) (Entered: 03/17/2025)

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

PACER
18

NOTICE of Appearance by John Langford on behalf of Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce (Langford, John) (Entered: 03/19/2025)

March 19, 2025

March 19, 2025

PACER
19

NOTICE of Appearance by Vera Eidelman on behalf of Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce (Eidelman, Vera) (Entered: 03/19/2025)

March 19, 2025

March 19, 2025

PACER
20

NOTICE of Appearance by Tyler Takemoto on behalf of Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce (Takemoto, Tyler) (Entered: 03/20/2025)

March 20, 2025

March 20, 2025

PACER
21

NOTICE of Appearance by Scarlet Kim on behalf of Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce (Kim, Scarlet) (Entered: 03/20/2025)

March 20, 2025

March 20, 2025

PACER
22

MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce.(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/24/2025)

March 24, 2025

March 24, 2025

PACER
23

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered re: 22 MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages.ALLOWED. Counsel using the Electronic Case Filing System should now file the document for which leave to file has been granted in accordance with the CM/ECF Administrative Procedures. Counsel must include - Leave to file granted on (date of order)- in the caption of the document. (FGD) (Entered: 03/25/2025)

March 25, 2025

March 25, 2025

PACER

Order on Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages

March 25, 2025

March 25, 2025

PACER
24

AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE Executed by Celeste Royce, Gordon Schiff. All Defendants. Acknowledgement filed by Celeste Royce, Gordon Schiff. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Proof of Service, # 2 Exhibit B - Proof of Service, # 3 Exhibit C - Proof of Service, # 4 Exhibit D - Proof of Service, # 5 Exhibit E - Proof of Service)(Rossman, Jessie) (Entered: 03/26/2025)

March 26, 2025

March 26, 2025

PACER
25

MOTION for Preliminary Injunction by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order Proposed Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction)(Kim, Scarlet) (Entered: 04/01/2025)

1 Text of Proposed Order Proposed Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for a Pre

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April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

RECAP
26

MEMORANDUM in Support re 25 MOTION for Preliminary Injunction filed by Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce. (Attachments: # 1 Affidavit Declaration of Attorney John Langford, # 2 Affidavit Declaration of Gordon Schiff, # 3 Affidavit Declaration of Celeste Royce)(Kim, Scarlet) (Entered: 04/01/2025)

1 Affidavit Declaration of Attorney John Langford

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2 Affidavit Declaration of Gordon Schiff

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3 Affidavit Declaration of Celeste Royce

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April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

RECAP
27

NOTICE of Appearance by Shawna Yen on behalf of U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Charles Ezell, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Mamatha S. Pancholi (Yen, Shawna) (Entered: 04/01/2025)

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

PACER
28

Letter/request (non-motion) from John Langford, Counsel for Plaintiffs re: Plaintiffs Motion to Grant Leave to Appear as Supervised Law Students, ECF No. 10. (Langford, John) (Entered: 04/01/2025)

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

RECAP
29

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered re: 10 MOTION for Leave to Appear as Supervised Law Students.ALLOWED as unopposed. (FGD) (Entered: 04/02/2025)

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

PACER

Order on Motion for Leave to File Document

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

PACER
30

NOTICE of Appearance by David A. Schulz on behalf of Gordon Schiff, Celeste Royce (Schulz, David) (Entered: 04/02/2025)

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

PACER
31

MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages by U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Charles Ezell, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Mamatha S. Pancholi.(Yen, Shawna) (Entered: 04/11/2025)

April 11, 2025

April 11, 2025

PACER
32

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered re: 31 MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages.ALLOWED. Counsel using the Electronic Case Filing System should now file the document for which leave to file has been granted in accordance with the CM/ECF Administrative Procedures. Counsel must include - Leave to file granted on (date of order)- in the caption of the document. (FGD) (Entered: 04/14/2025)

April 14, 2025

April 14, 2025

PACER

Order on Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages

April 14, 2025

April 14, 2025

PACER
33

MEMORANDUM in Opposition re 25 MOTION for Preliminary Injunction filed by U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Charles Ezell, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Mamatha S. Pancholi. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E)(Yen, Shawna) (Entered: 04/14/2025)

1 Exhibit A

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2 Exhibit B

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3 Exhibit C

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4 Exhibit D

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5 Exhibit E

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April 14, 2025

April 14, 2025

RECAP
34

Leave to File Document

April 15, 2025

April 15, 2025

PACER
35

Order

April 15, 2025

April 15, 2025

Clearinghouse

Order on Motion for Leave to File Document

April 16, 2025

April 16, 2025

PACER

Case Details