DETROIT (AP) — A federal judge has freed a property management company owned by the founder of Domino's Pizza from having to comply immediately with a new federal contraception coverage mandate.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff ruled Sunday in favor of Tom Monaghan and his Domino's Farms Corp., which has offices near Ann Arbor, Mich. Monaghan, a devout Roman Catholic, says use of contraception is a "gravely immoral" practice.

Monaghan sold most of his controlling stake in Domino's Pizza in 1998 to Bain Capital, a private equity company.

A total of about a dozen employers and employer groups have contraception benefits mandate lawsuits pending nationwide.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) requires non- grandfathered health plans to cover a package of preventive services without imposing deductible requirements or other cost-sharing requirements on the enrollees.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has added the contraception mandate to the preventive services package. The contraception benefits mandate removes financial barriers that affect women's health and increase overall health care costs, HHS officials say.

For employers other than Domino's Farms, the contraceptive benefits mandate took effect Tuesday.

 

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