Overview
(August 20, 2026, Los Angeles) – Steptoe LLP was part of the legal team that secured a preliminary injunction preventing the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from suspending the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), preserving critical homelessness funding and services across the Los Angeles region. Steptoe represented the Los Angeles Continuum of Care (LA CoC) alongside Public Counsel and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Court records identify Steptoe partner Robyn C. Crowther, associate Abigail Nicole Falk Orozco, and attorney Mary-Kate Planchet as counsel for the LA CoC intervenor in the case.
In LAHSA v. Trump et al., US District Judge David O. Carter ruled that HUD's abrupt suspension of LAHSA was likely unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, finding the agency's actions to be "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law." The court concluded that HUD's actions threatened the Los Angeles region's ability to compete for federal homelessness funding and disrupted a framework that Congress established through the HEARTH Act to ensure local communities set homelessness response priorities.
The injunction restores LAHSA as the Collaborative Applicant for the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, requires HUD to execute pending FY 2025 grant agreements, and preserves the region's ability to pursue future federal homelessness funding opportunities. The ruling also protects the continued operation of key homelessness response infrastructure, including the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), Coordinated Entry System (CES), and Point-in-Time Count.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients and innovative thinking before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
