Legal Update 9/27/21

Update on my request for a preliminary injunction

Thanks to all of you who have reached out for an update on my case. The court recently ruled on my request for a preliminary injunction.

First the good news: the University of California, in response to my lawsuit, argued that I lacked standing to bring the suit. Their claim was that, as a physician I would still be subject to the CA Department of Public Health (CDPH) vaccine mandate, even if the University changed its mandate policy. The Court rejected this argument:

As Kheriaty notes, the Vaccine Policy will impact his professional activities in ways that fall outside of the scope of the Department of Health Order. For instance, if he were to remain unvaccinated, the Vaccine Policy would limit his ability to enter the UCI campus or teach in a classroom setting, which are not covered by the Department of Health Order. Kheriaty has thus sufficiently alleged an injury that can be redressed… Accordingly, the Court finds that Kheriaty has standing to bring a challenge against the UC Vaccine Policy.

Now, the not-so-good news: the court denied my request for a preliminary injunction, which would have halted the UC vaccine mandate for all Covid-recovered individuals while my case is being adjudicated in court. In the absence of this injunction, other Covid-recovered individuals at the University are still subject to the mandate while my case is ongoing. Nevertheless, my case may have implications down the road for these individuals if the University mandates boosters. We knew the preliminary injunction was a long shot, since to grant it the court needs to determine—based only upon the initial written evidence already submitted, prior to discovery and trial—that we are very likely to succeed on the merits.

As of today, the court has issued only a “tentative” order denying my request for a preliminary injunction. Once the finalized order is issued, I will add this document to the other legal documents posted on my website here, so those who are interested can read the judge’s reasons for making this determination.

Now we move to the next legal phase, the “discovery” phase, which includes depositions of all their expert witnesses and examination of evidence we have requested from the University. Then we will proceed to the trial phase. As I have said before, I am prepared to appeal to the circuit court if we do not prevail at the current level of the district court. Stay tuned…