Articles

Nearly 40 years ago, Congress enacted the Food Security Act of 1985, a comprehensive bill about farming. Included in this bill were wetland conservation provisions that govern how farmers must treat wetlands on their property. Despite the name of the bill, these provisions—colloquially known as "Swampbuster"—threaten food security by overregula ...

Last week, in an opinion authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of PLF clients Wil Wilkins and Jane Stanton. Wil and Jane, two Montana homeowners, sued the federal government after the Forest Service tried to expand an easement the agency holds over Wil and Jane's property. The previous homeowners had granted the F ...

Wil Wilkins of Ravalli County, Mont., acknowledges he's a bit of a throwback. Growing up in West Virginia, he says his mother used to tell him, "You was born a hundred years too late, boy." It's an apt description of this self-described "mountain man." Wilkins is a dedicated practitioner of traditional crafts such as stone masonry, blacksmithing ...

Imagine the unthinkable happens: Your spouse suffers a sudden stroke and becomes wheelchair-bound. Life changes in an instant. Ordinary things—stairs, narrow hallways—become insurmountable problems.  You adapt. You push forward with plans to build a new home with ramps and an open floor plan. The county approves your permit to build. Life i ...

The Supreme Court agrees to hear oral arguments in only about 70 cases each term. Those 70 cases are selected for review from a flood of roughly 7,000-8,000 cert petitions. Next term, two of those cases will be Pacific Legal Foundation cases: Sackett v. EPA, which the Supreme Court accepted for review in January, and Wilkins v. United States, which ...

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Collins v. Mnuchin. The case involves Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders' challenge to regulations by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. But while the case involves housing finance regulation, the consequences could extend to nearly every lawsuit against a government agency. In 2 ...

Richard Schok owns a pipe fabricating company in North Pole, Alaska. After decades of building a successful business, Richard decided to purchase property to relocate and expand his company. The new property was next to a junk car dealer, a scrap metal dealer, and a concrete product supply company. Not exactly the pristine wetlands one thinks of wh ...

Rent and housing prices in Boulder are punishingly high: last year, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $1,823 per month, making it one of the most expensive markets in the country. Not surprisingly, many residents are searching for ways to make housing more affordable. Prices are high because there's not enough supply — and prohi ...

Last week, the federal government launched the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a new loan program intended to help small businesses that have partially or fully shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program's initial roll-out didn't go well; many banks delayed or refused to accept loan applications. But fixing these issues does nothing ...