Wisconsin eliminates home equity loophole following Supreme Court case last term

March 28, 2024

Madison, WI; March 25, 2024: Last Friday, Governor Tony Evers signed into law Assembly Bill 969, which completely ends home equity theft in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is the fifth state — along with Nebraska, Maine, South Dakota, and Idaho — to ban home equity theft since the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Tyler v. Hennepin County … ...

A guide to squatters’ rights

March 28, 2024

Everywhere we turn these days we see stories of individuals taking up residence in properties they don’t own. It’s called “squatting,” but it’s nothing more than trespassing.  This explainer clarifies why squatting is immoral and illegal, why it’s growing, and how to stop it.  What is squatting? “Squattin ...

These states are trying to bring back home equity theft

March 21, 2024

States across the nation are responding to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision last summer in Tyler v. Hennepin County, in which the Court held that home equity theft—when the government takes more than is owed when collecting a property tax debt—is unconstitutional. But some states have proposed reforms that would require property own ...

Without property rights, we drift further down “The Road to Serfdom”

March 21, 2024

This month marks 80 years since F. A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom was originally published in Britain. (An American edition was published six months afterward.) The book has since been translated into 20 languages and sold several million copies, making it not only Hayek’s most notable work, but also one of the foremost treatises ̷ ...

Stop hiring interns based on race, PLF tells Los Angeles Zoo

March 20, 2024

The Los Angeles Zoo—which is owned by the City of Los Angeles and receives 1.8 million visitors per year—selects its paid interns based on their race.   Pacific Legal Foundation sent a letter to the Zoo this week, pointing out that its discriminatory internship program likely violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause as well as ...

Judge denies qualified immunity to officers who took children from family home without a court order

March 20, 2024

Last week, a judge ruled that parents Josh Sabey and Sarah Perkins’ lawsuit could move forward against government officials who stole their children from their home without a court order in the middle of the night. The basis for this action? A single x-ray of their sick infant showed an old, healing rib injury. Without … ...

North Carolina property owner takes on regulators for ignoring Supreme Court decision in Sackett

March 15, 2024

Raleigh, NC; February 20: Today, Robert White filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers for ignoring the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. EPA. “Ours is a nation of laws, not of unrestrained bureaucrats,” said Charles Yates, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “EPA’s ...

White v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

March 15, 2024

Robert White worked for many years to build a highly successful commercial seafood business in North Carolina. While he earned a good livelihood, he invested much of his earnings in coastal property as a way to ensure financial security for his children.But now Robert and his family face financial ruin due to a remorseless power grab by two federal ...

PLF enters fight over New York’s discriminatory cannabis licensing

March 14, 2024

Syracuse, NY; March 14, 2024: Pacific Legal Foundation is now representing a New York business that is challenging the State’s discriminatory business licensing scheme for cannabis retailers. The State favors some applicants more highly than others based on the race and sex of the owners. The result: Valencia Ag is prevented from being consid ...

Valencia Ag, LLC v. Alexander

March 14, 2024

When the State of New York legalized cannabis in 2021, William and Emmet Purcell seized the opportunity to plant roots in the burgeoning industry. By September 2023, William and Emmet had established their business, Valencia Ag, in upstate New York. They signed a $2,000-per-month lease—plus utilities. All that remained was to get a license. Valen ...