Yesterday, District Judge David L. Russell (W.D. Okla.) issued an order establishing the briefing schedule in Calvey v. Obama for the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. Here is that schedule:
* November 21: The United States's motion for summary judgment is due
* December 5: The plaintiffs' cross-motion for summary judgment and opposition is due
* December 22: The United States's opposition and reply is due
* December 30: The plaintiffs' reply is due
(You can access the order here.)
Here is a little background. In their second amended complaint (accessible here), the plaintiffs brought seven claims against the constitutionality of the ACA: (1) that the minimum coverage provision exceeds Congress's commerce power; (2) that the minimum coverage provision exceeds Congress's taxing power because it is an unapportioned "direct" tax; (3) that the ACA violates the Tenth Amendment; (4) that the ACA violates the Free Exercise by forcing the plaintiffs to fund abortions; (5) that the ACA's religious exemptions violate the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment; (6) that the minimum coverage provision deprives the plaintiffs of their substantive liberty protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment; and (7) that the ACA, by requiring plaintiffs to disclose certain personal medical information, violates the Fourth Amendment.
In an order issued April 26 (which you can access here), Judge Russell dismissed claims 4, 5, and 7 on the ground that none of the plaintiffs had standing. He dismissed claims 1, 2, 3, and 6 for lack of standing with respect to those plaintiffs that currently are insured. But he denied the United States's 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss with respect to claims 1, 2, 3, and 6 (all of which concern the individual mandate) with respect to those plaintiffs who are currently uninsured.
It is unclear whether this case will ever proceed to a decision on the merits. The Supreme Court may well have granted certiorari, and even decided the constitutionality of the mandate, before Judge Russell issues his decision on the cross-motions for summary judgment.
