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On April 12, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled for Pacific Legal Foundation client George Sheetz in a case challenging extortionate permit fees for homebuilders. PLF now has won 18 of 20 cases we’ve litigated at the Supreme Court. Ten of the 18, including Sheetz, were unanimous decisions. Seven were won in the past five years. … ...

This post has been updated to reflect George Sheetz’s April 12 victory at the Supreme Court. Picture this: You’re a 65-year-old retiree who bought a small parcel of land in El Dorado County, California. In your career you worked your way up from $5-an-hour laborer to head of your own engineering contracting company. Your plans … ...

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 ...

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo—the Supreme Court case that could overturn Chevron deference and remove judicial bias toward regulatory agencies—has been called “the plan to incapacitate the federal government.”   “Chevron shields the executive branch from overly intrusive court review,” law professor Nicholas Bag ...

“Lawsuits can prompt institutional learning when they carry real consequences for defendant agencies.” — The Cato Institute in a January 19 amicus brief in Benning v. Oliver   “Modern connected humankind is trying to determine its position backwards.” — Playwright David Mamet in a January 23 amicus brief in NetChoic ...

“In 2009, I began treating a 9-year-old from New Jersey,” oncologist Shannon MacDonald recalls in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on the awful consequences of telehealth restrictions.   The 9-year-old had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. His New Jersey doctors referred him to Dr. MacDonald, who works at Mass General and is an expert  ...

“I would have thought Congress might have addressed student loan forgiveness if that were really such an important issue to one party in Congress. I would have thought maybe they would have fixed the eviction moratorium. I could go on-and-on on these issues. They don’t get addressed because Chevron makes it so easy for them … ...

On December 16, 1773—250 years ago—Samuel Adams gathered an angry crowd in Boston. Three ships loaded with East India Company tea were docked in Boston Harbor.   One ship, the Dartmouth, had been docked for 20 days while the people of Boston protested and argued. That day, December 16, was the day the conflict would … ...

If a federal agency does something wrong to you—if bureaucrats penalize you for something you didn’t do, or cheat you out of something that should be yours—the courts should set things right. But sometimes, instead, a court will invoke Chevron Deference and defer to the federal agency.  Chevron Deference is a doctrine created by the  ...