Tarovisky Plaintiffs,

It is with a sad heart that Robert and I write to tell you that the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and ruled against us (2-1) in the shutdown cases.  We strongly disagree with the majority decision, but are grateful for the strong dissent explaining why the other 2 judges should have ruled in our favor.  In addition to the distorted view of statutory construction that doesn’t comport with even current Supreme Court justices’ views, the majority relies on the 2019 amendments to the ADA that were not in effect and did not apply to the 2013 shutdown! The two decisions are attached (one from the 2013 case and one from the 2018/2019 shutdown).   

We only just received the decision this morning and are still digesting it, but anticipate that the next step will be to request that the Court of Appeals rehear the case en banc meaning that all 12 judges would sit on one panel and vote instead of the 3 that we had for this appeal.

We are disappointed beyond words with this set back, but this is not over!  Thank you for trusting me and Robert to sue the federal government on your behalf.  When we filed this case on New Year’s Eve, we never would have believed the shutdown would have lasted 35 days.  It is outrageous and unacceptable to treat federal workers this way and Robert and I are committed to doing whatever we can to get this appellate decision overturned.