Articles

A new economic theory indicates that land use restrictions have worsened wealth inequality. Normally, we shouldn’t fret too much over wealth inequality from natural market forces. After all, free exchanges of goods and services between consenting adults are just, even if the resulting distribution is unequal. Moreover, free markets tend to ...

In 2007, twelve firefighters sued the City of Buffalo after they were denied promotions because of their race. Each of the firefighters performed well on the competitive examination, earned a place on the resulting certified eligible list, and received a notice of appointment to a promotional position. No promotions were made. The City’s Civ ...

Last week’s unfortunate ruling by a federal judge tossing out a case against government discrimination shows just how entrenched racial preferences have become.  In Midwest Fence v. United States Department of Transportation, a small guard rail installation subcontractor submitted the lowest bids on multiple highway construction contracts i ...

This morning, the Supreme Court declined to review the case challenging the constitutionality of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB. This is the group of unelected bureaucrats given authority to set Medicare reimbursement rates, whose “recommendations” automatically become law without any involvement by Congress, the Presid ...

To honor Chief Justice Robert’s first decade on the Supreme Court — more like castigate him — the Constitutional Accountability Center has released a series of papers on the court’s jurisprudence. The most recent of which addresses the court’s environmental cases. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the paper reveals more about th ...

We are thrilled to report that former PLF client, Roc Sansotta, has reached a settlement agreement with the Town of Nags Head, North Carolina, to the tune of $1.5 million! Under the agreement, the Town will essentially buy Sansotta’s beachfront property and cottages, and tear them down to make the land part of the public beach. … ...

Eminent domain — New Jersey Supreme Court abandons precedent In this 3-2 decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the use of eminent domain in 62-64 Main Street v. Mayor and City Council of the City of Hackensack.  The question here is how much blight is just pretext and how much is really enough to justify condemning … ...

The shoreline of the Great Lakes has given rise to many interesting property rights disputes between property owners and hungry governments looking to take private property without obeying the Constitution. Add the case of LBLHA, LLC, v. Town of Long Beach, Indiana, to that list. The states bordering the Great Lakes have a history of trying to ...

In Oregon—as in most states—a landowner whose property abuts a highway has a right to directly access that road. Thus, an abutting owner is entitled to just compensation when the state acquires the landowner’s right of access in an eminent domain action. Or at least that’s how the story is supposed to go. … ...