Rev. Steven Soos, et al. v. Andrew M. Cuomo, et al

Soos v. Cuomo I:

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On June 26, 2020, Thomas More Society Special Counsel Christopher A. Ferrara and Senior Counsel Michael McHale obtained a first-of-its kind injunction against COVID-19-related restrictions on houses of worship in New York State. Federal District Judge Gary L. Sharpe granted the plaintiffs in that case, two Catholic priests in upstate New York and three Orthodox Jewish congregants in Brooklyn, a preliminary injunction barring Governor Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio from imposing on houses of worship any occupancy limitation stricter than that imposed on favored “Phase II” Businesses—i.e., 50%.

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The Court concluded: “[I]t is not the judiciary's role to second-guess the likes of Governor Cuomo or Mayor de Blasio when it comes to decisions they make in such troubling times, that is, until those decisions result in the curtailment of fundamental rights without compelling justification.” The Court further ruled that no help to the Court from amicus briefs was needed because “The competence and skill of plaintiffs’ counsel obviates the need for additional input.”

Judge Sharpe’s decision is currently on appeal by the State and City of New York, but there is no stay of its operation, and their appeal has been repeatedly dismissed without prejudice to restoration as the parties attempt to reach a final resolution of plaintiffs’ challenge to Governor Cuomo’s executive orders in light of the Supreme Court’s later decision in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, which barred enforcement of Cuomo’s executive order limiting attendance at houses of worship to 10 and 25 persons, respectively, in the so-called Red and Orange Zones of his “Cluster Initiative.”

The injunction in Soos v. Cuomo has provided the basis for resolution of another challenge to Governor Cuomo’s executive orders in the case of Agudath Israel v. Cuomo, in which the City and State agreed, in light of the Soos injunction, not to enforce any capacity limit on churches less than 50%.

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Soos v. Cuomo II:

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in response to a motion by Thomas More Society attorneys, reversed the district court’s denial of injunctive relief against the “Cluster Initiative”—a set of restrictions on houses of worship imposed after the injunction in Soos I—and sent the case back to the District Court for further proceedings in which Special Counsel Christopher Ferrara is lead counsel.

The State of New York has since amended its executive orders to eliminate all restrictions on houses of worship in the “zones” of the “Cluster Initiative.”  

Following that retreat by the State, Ferrara will be seeking the elimination of any capacity limits on houses of worship or any limits on outdoor gatherings anywhere in New York by way of a final injunction in Soos I, making permanent plaintiffs’ breakthrough victory in that case.