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Eviction moratorium lawsuit gains 2,600 landlords, settlement eyed at $1B
The Darby Development case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims could lead to about $1B in federal compensation, after an appeals court ruling in the plaintiffs' favor in 2025.
The number of landlords seeking federal compensation for losses tied to the pandemic-era eviction moratorium has grown by more than 75% since spring, according to a recent filing in the Darby Development Co. Inc. v. United States case, per Bisnow.
More than 2,600 landlords are now part of the lawsuit, and legal teams are negotiating a settlement that could require the federal government to pay around $1B to the plaintiffs, Multifamily Dive reported.
The plaintiffs initially sought $26B in restitution, arguing the nearly yearlong eviction moratorium violated their Fifth Amendment rights. A federal court dismissed the case in 2022, but an appeals court ruled for the plaintiffs in 2025.
Bisnow reports that the eviction moratorium was put in place during President Donald Trump’s first term, lasting from September 2020 to July 2021, with additional local and state bans in place. The filing adds major multifamily owners including American Landmark with 32,561 units, and Bisnow says an attorney for the plaintiffs argued the ruling could support additional claims because it found the moratorium constituted a physical taking of the right to exclude.