Articles

President's weekly report — August 30, 2013

August 30, 2013 | By ROB RIVETT

Environment & Taxes — A.B. 32 “cap and trade” hearing A hearing was held on Wednesday in Morningstar Packing Co. v. California Air Resources Board, our challenge to California’s “cap and trade” auction of emissions credits for carbon dioxide.  We are arguing that the Board lacks authority to raise billions ...

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Tune in to hear PLF's Tony Francois on KERN 1180 in Bakersfield this afternoon

August 30, 2013 | By TONY FRANCOIS

During the 3:00-3:30 half hour, I will be joining Cathy Abernathy, who is filling in as host for Ralph Bailey on KERN 1180 in Bakersfield.  If you are not in the area, you can listen in on the web here.  We will be talking about PLF’s environmental practice, including topics like Endangered Species, Prop 65, … ...

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No magic words required

August 29, 2013 | By DEBORAH LA FETRA

Patricia Atalese signed a contract with a financial services firm, in which she agreed that “any claim or dispute” between herself and the firm, related to the services provided, “shall be submitted to binding arbitration upon the request of either party” and “any decision of the arbitrator shall be final and may be en ...

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Texas court finds agency can't deny pecan farmers' water rights without compensation

August 29, 2013 | By JENNIFER THOMPSON

Last October, we related the story of Glenn and JoLynn Bragg, pecan farmers in Medina County, Texas, who suffered from a state agency’s taking of their water rights.  PLF filed an amicus brief in the case, supporting the Braggs’ argument that the agency, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, could not regulate away the Braggs’ common la ...

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More water for salmon, less for farmers

August 29, 2013 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

Last week, Judge Lawrence O’Neill of the Eastern District of California okayed the Bureau of Reclamation’s plan to release up to 20,000 acre-feet of water into the Trinity and Klamath Rivers.  San Joaquin Valley water districts have filed a lawsuit challenging the releases, which ostensibly are for the health of spawning salmon populat ...

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Another PLF beach win ensures federal protection for property rights

August 27, 2013 | By J. DAVID BREEMER

PLF continues to make headway in its twin goals of protecting property rights on the beach and in opening the federal courthouse doors to property owners seeking to defend their constitutionally protected property rights. The latest example of this reality is a new victory in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in (another) case pitting … ...

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Private property rights advance sustainable development

August 27, 2013 | By CHRISTINA MARTIN

In Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management, PLF won one of the most important property rights decisions in decades.  As we have described in more detail elsewhere, the victory means that the government can no longer use the permitting process as an opportunity to shake down property owners for money, land, or other goods. … ...

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Sea otter documentary highlights the impacts that the Service's management zone decision will have on Southern California fisheries

August 26, 2013 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Students from UC Santa Barbara have produced a documentary on the termination of the sea otter management zone, which PLF is challenging on behalf of four California fishing groups that are threatened with both the loss of their livelihoods and criminal punishment. The documentary does an excellent job explaining the human consequences of the Servi ...