SAN FRANCISCO (LN) — Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg on Monday extended a preliminary injunction shielding the City of Fresno and its co-plaintiffs from grant conditions imposed by HUD, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Health and Human Services, barring the agencies from enforcing the conditions, demanding compliance certifications, or refusing to process grant agreements because of the cities' participation in the lawsuit.
The amended order, entered April 28 in the Northern District of California, expands an earlier injunction to cover newly added parties in the Second Amended Complaint.
The injunction covers HUD, and a roster of DOT sub-agencies — the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railway Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — as well as HHS, along with their officers, agents, and anyone acting in concert with them.
Seeborg's order prohibits the enjoined parties from imposing or enforcing the Grant Conditions or any materially similar terms or conditions with respect to grants awarded to plaintiffs, requiring plaintiffs to make any certification or other representation related to compliance with those terms, or refusing to issue, process, or sign grant agreements based on plaintiffs' participation in the lawsuit.
The order also bars agencies from using a municipality's participation in the lawsuit as grounds to withhold or condition federal grant agreements.
The order carries immediate effect. Enjoined parties must take every step necessary to clear any administrative, operational, or technical hurdles to comply, and must file declarations within two days confirming that plaintiffs are not subject to the Grant Conditions, that they have complied with the order — including serving a copy on every defendant agency head — and detailing any additional compliance steps taken.
The injunction remains in effect pending further orders from the court.