In
New Hope Family Services, Inc. v. Poole, (2d Cir., Nov. 4, 2019), the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction allowing a Christian adoption agency, pending a decision on appeal of a lower court order, to continue to provide adoption services that are under way and ongoing without complying with New York's law barring discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status against applicants for adoption services. At the same time, the agency agreed to stop accepting all new clients while the appeal is pending. In May, the
district court had rejected the agency's 1st and 14th amendment challenges to New York's anti-discrimination provisions. The Court of Appeals said in part:
On the motion record here, the court can conclude only that New Hope may succeed on the merits of its appeal; the likelihood of such success cannot confidently be predicted in advance of reviewing the circumstances and law as more fully presented by the parties in their merits briefs.
What can be determined even on the motion record, however, is that New Hope will suffer irreparable injury without the requested preliminary injunction pending appeal.
ADF issued a
press release announcing the decision.
