Ozinga v. Price

Plaintiffs (for-profit company and certain of its employees) filed instant action challenging contraceptive mandate contained in Affordable Care Act and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Dist. Ct. initially entered preliminary injunction barring enforcement of contraceptive mandate based on holdings in Korte, 735 F.3d 654 and Grote, 708 F.3d 850. In July of 2015, govt. amended regulations by extending to certain for-profit entities accommodation (for not-for-profit entities) that provided alternative means of ensuring employee access to contraceptive services without payment or direct involvement by objecting employers. Dist. Ct. then entered permanent injunction limited to original version of contraceptive mandate in force prior to July of 2015, which made no accommodation available to for-profit employers. Ct. of Appeals found that permanent injunction should not have been issued since: (1) said injunction was directed to regulations that no longer existed; and (2) instant case was moot because issue regarding validity of prior regulation was foreclosed by issuance of July 2015 regulations. Ct. rejected plaintiffs' claim for issuance of broad injunction barring any enforcement of contraceptive mandate, since plaintiffs’ complaint focused only on plaintiffs’ exclusion from accommodation made available to not-for-profit entitles.