CALIFORNIA v. AZAR

Nos. 18-15144, 18-15166, 18-15255.

911 F.3d 558 (2018)

State of CALIFORNIA; State of Delaware; Commonwealth of Virginia; State of Maryland; State of New York, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Alex M. AZAR II, Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; R. Alexander Acosta, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Department of Labor; Steven Terner Mnuchin, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; U.S. Department of the Treasury, Defendants, and The Little Sisters of the Poor Jeanne Jugan Residence, Intervenor-Defendant-Appellant. State of California; State of Delaware; Commonwealth of Virginia; State of Maryland; State of New York, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Alex M. Azar II, Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; R. Alexander Acosta, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Department of Labor; Steven Terner Mnuchin, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; U.S. Department of the Treasury, Defendants, and March for Life Education and Defense Fund, Intervenor-Defendant-Appellant. State of California; State of Delaware; Commonwealth of Virginia; State of Maryland; State of New York, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Alex M. Azar II, Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; R. Alexander Acosta, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Department of Labor; Steven Terner Mnuchin, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; U.S. Department of the Treasury, Defendants-Appellants.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

FILED December 13, 2018.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Christina Bull Arndt, Esquire , Michele Li Wong , Attorney, AGCA-Office of the California Attorney General, Los Angeles, CA, Karli A. Eisenberg , Deputy Assistant Attorney General, R. Matthew Wise, Esquire , AGCA-Office of the California Attorney General, Sacramento, CA, Nimrod Elias , AGCA-Office of the California Attorney General, Max Carter-Oberstone , Associate Deputy Solicitor General, California Department of Justice, San Francisco, CA, for Plaintiff-Appellees.

Eric C. Rassbach , Mark Rienzi , Lori Windham , Diana Verm , Counsel, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Washington, DC, for Intervenor-Defendant-Appellant. THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR JEANNE JUGAN RESIDENCE.

Brian Ricardo Chavez-Ochoa, Esquire , Attorney, Chavez-Ochoa Law Offices, Inc., Valley Springs, CA, Kevin Theriot , Kenneth John Connelly , Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom, Scottsdale, AZ, Gregory Baylor , Christen M. Price , Alliance Defending Freedom, Washington, DC, for Intervenor-Defendant-Appellant MARCH FOR LIFE EDUCATION AND DEFENSE FUND.

Justin Sandberg , U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch, Jaynie R. Lilley , Karen Schoen , Lowell Sturgill, Jr. , Attorney, DOJ — U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, Defendants-Appellants.

Dwight Gerard Duncan , Attorney, University of Massachusetts School of Law, North Dartmouth, MA, Amicus Curiae for RESIDENTS AND FAMILIES OF RESIDENTS AT HOMES OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR.

William Haun , Shearman & Sterling LLP, Washington, DC, Amicus Curiae for CONSTITUTIONAL LAW SCHOLARS.

Robert E. Dunn , Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Palo Alto, CA, Amicus Curiae, for RELIGIOUS SISTERS OF MERCY.

Stephanie N. Taub , Counsel, First Liberty Institute, Plano, TX, Amicus Curiae for FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE.

Jamie A. Levitt , Morrison & Foerster LLP, New York, NY, Amicus Curiae for AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION.

Jeffrey Blumenfeld, Esquire , Attorney, Lowenstein Sandler LLP, Washington, DC, Amicus Curiae for THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S LAW CENTER, NATIONAL LATINA INSTITUTE FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, SISTERLOVE, INC., NATIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN WOMEN'S FORUM.

Diana Kasdan , Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, NY, Amicus Curiae for CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW, 7 CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS.

Erin Bernstein , Attorney, OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, Oakland, CA, Laura S. Trice , Office of the County Counsel, San Jose, CA, Amicus Curiae for 17 CITIES, COUNTIES, AND LOCAL AGENCIES.

Elizabeth Gill , ACLU Foundation of Northern California, San Francisco, CA, Amicus Curiae for AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, ACLU OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, ACLU OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, ACLU OF SAN DIEGO AND IMPERIAL COUNTIES, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE, LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE, INC.

Richard B. Katskee , Counsel, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Washington, DC, Amicus Curiae for AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, BEND THE ARC: A JEWISH PARTNERSHIP FOR JUSTICE, HADASSAH, THE WOMENS ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA, INC., HEART WOMEN AND GIRLS, THE INTERFAITH ALLIANCE FOUNDATION, JEWISH WOMEN INTERNATIONAL, METHODIST FEDERATION FOR SOCIAL ACTION, MUSLIM ADVOCATES, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN, INC., PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION, RECONSTRUCTING JUDAISM, RECONSTRUCTIONIST RABBINICAL ASSOCIATION, THE SIKH COALITION.

Allan J. Arffa , Elizabeth J. Grossman , Crystal Johnson , Melina Maria Meneguin Layerenza , Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York, NY, Amicus Curiae for PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA, NATIONAL HEALTH LAW PROGRAM, INC., NATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ASSOCIATION.

Bruce H. Schneider , Attorney, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, New York, NY, Amicus Curiae for AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSING, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, PHYSICIANS FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, CALIFORNIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.

Elliott Schulder, Esquire , Attorney, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, DC, Amicus Curiae for ADMINISTRATIVE LAW PROFESSORS.

Alan Gilbert , Dentons US LLP, Chicago, IL, Amicus Curiae for US WOMEN'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR FEMALE EXECUTIVES, BUSINESSES.

Genevieve Nadeau , Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, Boston, MA, Amicus Curiae for STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Before: J. Clifford Wallace, Andrew J. Kleinfeld, and Susan P. Graber, Circuit Judges.


OPINION

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the regulations implementing it require group health plans to cover contraceptive care without cost sharing. Federal agencies issued two interim final rules (IFRs) exempting employers with religious and moral objections from this requirement. Several states sued to enjoin...

Let's get started

Leagle.com

Welcome to the leading source of independent legal reporting
Sign on now to see your case.
Or view more than 10 million decisions and orders.

  • Updated daily.
  • Uncompromising quality.
  • Complete, Accurate, Current.

Listed below are the cases that are cited in this Featured Case. Click the citation to see the full text of the cited case. Citations are also linked in the body of the Featured Case.

Cited Cases

  • No Cases Found

Listed below are those cases in which this Featured Case is cited. Click on the case name to see the full text of the citing case.

Citing Cases