Franklin County will not follow the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium, according to an order issued by administrative judge Ted Barrows Thursday.
Barrows writes the court is legally bound to follow a federal appeals court ruling from last month that determined the CDC overstepped and does not have the legal authority to impose a moratorium on evictions.
Although Barrows acknowledges the latest order limits the eviction ban to counties with high transmission rates, he writes “the new order is the same in substance as the previous order.”
Many thought Franklin County would follow the latest moratorium, which apples to counties with substantial or high levels of transmission—the CDC’s two highest designations. As of Tuesday, 70 of Ohio’s 88 counties fit the bill, including the three largest: Franklin, Cuyahoga and Hamilton.
Judges in Toledo's Housing Court and the Hamilton County Municipal Court made similar rulings Thursday.
