Property Rights

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. … ...

One of the main themes of the Passover seder is asking questions. Early in the evening, the youngest child capable of reading (or singing) recites “Ma Nishtana,” which asks why we do things differently tonight—at the seder—from all other nights (we eat matzah, we all recline, etc.). Many parts of the seder are structured to … ...

After winning his match during last weekend’s UFC 300 in Las Vegas, Brazilian mixed martial artist Renato Moicano delivered a rather unconventional victory speech. Moicano did not use his moment in the sun to boast of his win against his opponent Jalin Turner or reflect on the long road he traveled to become champion. Instead, … ...

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 … ...

Rent control is a bad housing policy that won’t go away. Unfortunately, this term, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review not one, not two, but three cases that challenged New York City’s 2019 iteration of the bad housing policy, euphemistically labeled “rent stabilization.” But thanks to Justice Clarence Thomas, the pr ...

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 ...

Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an article about one of California’s longest-running residential building projects —17 years and counting to complete 49 “affordable” housing units that cost $32.4 million to build, not to mention the land the county gave to the developer. The project, initiated in 2007, is listed as ...

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 ...

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 ̷ ...