Filed Date: March 15, 2012
Closed Date: 2014
Clearinghouse coding complete
On March 15, 2012, a Catholic business owner filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri 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 American Center for Law & Justice and the Fidelis Center for Law and Policy, 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 his religious freedom by requiring him to provide coverage for contraception through his business's group health insurance plan. Claiming that providing coverage for contraception would both contravene his Christian faith and compel speech contrary to his beliefs, the plaintiff sought an exemption from the ACA's contraception mandate for himself and other institutions with similar religious objections.
On May 21, 2012, the defendants moved to dismiss the case. The defendants argued that the plaintiff had not alleged any imminent injury, and that he thus lacked standing and had failed to state a legitimate claim. On June 11, 2012, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint, with additional facts supporting his allegation of imminent injury. The defendants moved to dismiss this amended complaint on the same grounds as the original complaint.
On September 28, 2012, the District Court (Judge Carol E. Jackson) granted the defendants' motion to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Judge Jackson found that the contraceptive coverage mandate did not impose a substantial burden on the plaintiff's religious freedom, nor did it compel the plaintiff to speak, to subsidize speech, or to subsidize expressive conduct. O'Brien v. DHHS, 894 F. Supp. 2d 1149 (E.D. Mo. 2012).
The plaintiff appealed this dismissal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and moved for an injunction pending appeal. On November 28, the Eighth Circuit (unsigned, with Circuit Judge Morris S. Arnold dissenting) granted a stay pending appeal, without comment. Judges William Jay Riley, Steven M. Colloton, Jane Kelly heard oral argument on October 24, 2013. On September 8, 2014, the Eighth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision and remanded the case back for proceedings consistent with the recent Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores. On November 12, 2014, the parties filed a joint motion for entry of injunction and judgment and sought a judgment in favor of plaintiffs on their RFRA claim, a permanent injunction, and to dismiss all other claims against the defendants. On November 12, 2014, the Court entered a judgment in favor of plaintiffs on claims under RFRA, permanently enjoined defendants from enforcing the disputed June 30, 2014 Contraceptive Coverage Requirement against the plaintiff, and dismissed all other claims against defendants.
This case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Hannah Swanson (5/27/2013)
Mallory Jones (11/26/2013)
Richard Jolly (4/5/2014)
MJ Koo (3/14/2017)
Sioux Chief MFG. Co, Inc. v. Sebelius, Western District of Missouri (2013)
Hall v. Sebelius, District of Minnesota (2013)
Bick Holdings Inc. v. Sebelius, Eastern District of Missouri (2013)
Daniel Medford v. Sebelius, District of Minnesota (2013)
Doboszenski & Sons, Inc. v. Sebelius, District of Minnesota (2013)
Stinson Electric, Inc. v. Sebelius, District of Minnesota (2014)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4299048/parties/obrien-v-us-department-of-health-and-human-services/
Adams, Cheryl L. (Missouri)
Abdo, Alex (Missouri)
Abdo, Alexander Abraham (Missouri)
Amanat, Farzin Franklin (Missouri)
Altmeyer, Helen Campbell (Missouri)
Jackson, Carol E. (Missouri)
Biklen, Molly Knopp (Missouri)
Buchanan, Patricia L. (Missouri)
Cafferkey, Maureen M. (Missouri)
Campbell, John George (Missouri)
Chastain, Lydia Jones (Missouri)
Collins, Christine A (Missouri)
Crowell, Anna Odella (Missouri)
Dancy, Rolesia Butler (Missouri)
Feinberg, Carol Beth (Missouri)
Furst, Robert Leonard (Missouri)
Gamble, Gwendolyn Millicent (Missouri)
Goldberg, Elizabeth (Missouri)
GOVT, Norman Garcia (Missouri)
Green, Christopher L. (Missouri)
Hagan, Michael Kirby (Missouri)
Hartman, Michael Ross (Missouri)
Hennefeld, Daniel M (Missouri)
Kasameyer, Katherine (Missouri)
Kronheim, Jonathan D (Missouri)
Lake, Joseph Michael (Missouri)
Mandelbaum, Chaya Mayim (Missouri)
Moore, Melissa Revin (Missouri)
Perlman, Leslie Canfield (Missouri)
Pitlyk, Sarah Elizabeth (Missouri)
Rittmaster, Aaron J. (Missouri)
Rothert, Anthony [Tony] E. (Missouri)
Ruzal, Jeffrey Howard (Missouri)
Scheff, Matthew Michael (Missouri)
Shanahan, Thomas C. (Missouri)
Silverman, Stephen Aaron (Missouri)
SilverSmith, Summer Christine (Missouri)
Sledd, Herbert Davis (Missouri)
Surtees, Geoffrey R. (Kentucky)
Wade, Diane Zwerling (Missouri)
White, Edward L. III (Michigan)
Abdo, Alexander Abraham (Missouri)
Amanat, Farzin Franklin (Missouri)
Amezquita, Hope Renee (Missouri)
Arterburn, Jennifer (Missouri)
AUSA, Julie Saltman (Missouri)
AUSA, Joel McElvain (Missouri)
Bagley, Nicholas J. (Missouri)
Bamberger, Michael A. (Missouri)
Bannon, Alicia Lorraine (Missouri)
Batsides, Demetrios Christos (Missouri)
Beckenhauer, Eric B. (Missouri)
Bennett, Michelle Renee (District of Columbia)
Bentley, Elizabeth G. (Missouri)
Berwick, Benjamin Leon (Missouri)
Bloch-Wehba, Hannah (Missouri)
Branda, Joyce R. (District of Columbia)
Bressler, Steven Y. (Missouri)
Bricker, Matthew J. (Missouri)
Brock, Chad Michael (Missouri)
Cagle, Matthew Thomas (Missouri)
Callahan, Richard G. (Missouri)
Castelli, Thomas H. (Missouri)
Chahal, Harpreet Kaur (Missouri)
Chaifetz, Samantha L. (Missouri)
Choudhury, Nusrat Jahan (Missouri)
Clark, Melanca Durham (Missouri)
Clark, Andrew Edward (Missouri)
Colangelo-Bryan, Joshua Nicholas (Missouri)
Coll-Very, Alexis Susan (Missouri)
Condon, Jennifer Brooke (Missouri)
Crane-Hirsch, Daniel Kadane (Missouri)
Crump, Catherine Newby (Missouri)
Danoff, Aurele Alfie (Missouri)
Diakun, Anna Natalia (Missouri)
Donohue, Megan Elizabeth (Missouri)
Dunn, Christopher T (Missouri)
Eisenberg, Arthur Nelson (Missouri)
Farber, Molissa Heather (Missouri)
Gorski, Ashley Marie (Missouri)
Gov, Adam Grogg-Federal (Missouri)
Gov, Michelle Renee (Missouri)
Grogg, Adam Anderson (Missouri)
Haddad, Richard Inad (Missouri)
Hafetz, Jonathan L. (Missouri)
Hall, Christopher R. (Missouri)
Hansen, Jeffrey Michael (Missouri)
Hauss, Brian Matthew (Missouri)
Hearn, Marcellene Elizabeth (Missouri)
Hikida, Katherine M (Missouri)
Hofmann, Marcia Clare (Missouri)
Hull, Joanna Berney (Missouri)
Humphreys, Bradley Philip (Missouri)
Jed, Adam C. (District of Columbia)
Kell, Gerald Cooper (Missouri)
Kingsley, Benjamin S. (Missouri)
Kolbi-Molinas, Alexa Rebecca (Missouri)
Krause, Andrew Edward (Missouri)
Lambert, Marissa Paige (Missouri)
Leonardo-Beckmann, Diane C. (Missouri)
Lewis, Megan Elizabeth (Missouri)
Lieber, Sheila M. (District of Columbia)
London, Ronald Gary (Missouri)
Lustberg, Lawrence S. (Missouri)
Madsen, Bertrand Rolf (Missouri)
Mahoney, Kathleen Anne (Missouri)
Manes, Jonathan Matthew (Missouri)
Mantoan, Kathryn Grzenczyk (Missouri)
Marshall, Randall C. (Missouri)
Mathews, Patrick Casey (Missouri)
Mehta, Leslie Chambers (Missouri)
Merriweather-Tucker, Brooke A. (Missouri)
Moore, Christina Bahr (Missouri)
Navarro, Heather B. (Missouri)
Newell, Jennifer Chang (Missouri)
Opsahl, Kurt Bradford (Missouri)
PHV, Elliot Tarloff (Missouri)
PHV, Lindsay Harrison (Missouri)
Rocah, David Robert (Missouri)
Ruzicka, Eric Andrew (Missouri)
Saltman, Julie Shana (Missouri)
Schumacher, Robert W. (Missouri)
Schwartztol, Laurence Michael (Missouri)
Shaitelman, Kenneth L (Missouri)
Siekert, Friedrich A. (Missouri)
Spurlock, Matthew Douglas (Missouri)
Steinberg, Michael J. (Missouri)
Sun, Christine Patricia (Missouri)
Sweren-Becker, Eliza (Missouri)
Tompkins, Nicholas C (Missouri)
Toomey, Patrick Christopher (Missouri)
Torrance, Benjamin H. (Missouri)
Union, American Civil (Missouri)
Watson, Elizabeth K (Missouri)
Weaver, Heather Lynn (Missouri)
Weidenbach, Mitchell L. (Missouri)
Weinbeck, Michael P (Missouri)
Wessler, Nathan Freed (Missouri)
Wishnie, Michael J. (Missouri)
Youngs, Stuart Andrew (Missouri)
Altmeyer, Helen Campbell (Missouri)
Andrapalliyal, Vinita (Missouri)
AUSA, Christopher R (Missouri)
Butler, Paul Timothy (Missouri)
Chung, Evelyn Hyun-Jung (Missouri)
Cordaro, Joseph Nicholas (Missouri)
Cranford, Margaret Terry (Missouri)
Cummings, Julie A.K. (Missouri)
Dodson, Joe Michael (Missouri)
DOJ, Michelle Bennett (Missouri)
Edwards, Karla Jackson (Missouri)
Epstein, Matthew R. (Missouri)
Gillingham, James Garland (Missouri)
Goldsmith, Aaron Steven (Missouri)
Goldstein, Elena Stacy (Missouri)
Goldstein, Nathan P. (Missouri)
Hambrick, Jonathan Holland (Missouri)
Harwood, Ann Elizabeth (Missouri)
Jafek, Timothy Bart (Missouri)
Keen, Stanley Edward (Missouri)
Kopplin, Rebecca Michelle (Missouri)
Kruse, Elizabeth Marie (Missouri)
LeMar, Harold William (Missouri)
McEckron, Brooke D. (Missouri)
Mock, Jasand Patric (Missouri)
Moukalif, Monica R. (Missouri)
Oswald, Craig Arthur (Missouri)
Parker, Andrea Hedrick (Missouri)
Parry, Robin Springberg (Missouri)
Pharo, William George (Missouri)
Pomeroy, Richard L. (Missouri)
Roberts, Charles E. (Missouri)
Rodenhausen, Patricia Manning (Missouri)
Rothert, Anthony E. (Missouri)
Shepherd, Matt Stephen (Missouri)
Singh, Rukhsanah L. (Missouri)
Smith, Mary Patricia (Missouri)
Snell, Kevin Matthew (Missouri)
Stark, Benjamin Andrew (Missouri)
Taffe, Christopher V. (Missouri)
Tarczynska, Dominika Natalia (Missouri)
Theis, John Kenneth (Missouri)
Wofford, Lindsay A. (Missouri)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4299048/obrien-v-us-department-of-health-and-human-services/
Last updated Feb. 20, 2024, 3:07 a.m.
State / Territory: Missouri
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Contraception Insurance Mandate
Key Dates
Filing Date: March 15, 2012
Closing Date: 2014
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Plaintiffs are business owners who oppose the use of contraception for religious reasons, and therefore object to the contraception mandate in the ACA.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Federal
U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, Federal
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Religious Freedom Rest. Act/Religious Land Use and Inst. Persons Act (RFRA/RLUIPA)
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Mixed
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Reproductive rights:
General:
Discrimination-basis:
Type of Facility: