Sanchez v. Torrez
New Mexico landowners defend property rights from state-sanctioned trespassing
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid made it clear that the government cannot force property owners to allow public trespassers on their private land without just compensation. Doing so is an unconstitutional property taking, even if the private land in question happens to be a streambed. ...
Shear Development Co., LLC v. California Coastal Commission
California Coastal Commission unlawfully blocks home construction
Land in California's coastal zone is among the most heavily regulated in the nation, if not the world. But even California's regulations acknowledge that property owners in the coastal zone have the fundamental right to use and develop their land. The State's Coastal Act, for example, limits the power of the California Coastal Commission to ...
Oom Living, LLC v. City of Seattle
Fighting Seattle’s permitting extortion to build new housing
The government may not deny a benefit, even a discretionary one, based on a person's exercise of constitutional rights. Represented at no charge by Pacific Legal Foundation, Jenna and Oom are now fighting back with a state lawsuit challenging Seattle's unconstitutional permitting condition. ...
CTM Holdings LLC v. USDA
Farming family fights government’s illegal restrictions on their livelihood
Iowa attorney Jim Conlan grew up in a farming family, so when considering new investment options, reconnecting with his family legacy through agriculture was a natural fit. But Jim's efforts to support this time-honored industry soon ran headlong into government overreach by regulators that lack his deep respect for farming's critical role in sust ...
Friends of the Crazy Mountains v. Erickson
Defending protections for property owners and respect for property rights
Like much of the American West, the area around Montana's Crazy Mountains—the Crazies—is a checkerboard of federal, state, and private land. Also, as is typical in the western U.S., access to the Crazies' higher-elevation public land is limited and requires permission from private landowners. ...
Heaton et al. v. Biden et al.
Ranching family fights President Biden’s Antiquities Act abuse
Chris Heaton is a sixth-generation landowner and rancher who embodies the rugged individualism, adventurism, and tireless work ethic of the American West. Chris's land, family legacy, and rights have landed in the crosshairs of President Biden's new national monument designation. Represented by PLF at no charge, Chris is fighting back with a federa ...
Matthew Schafer, et al. v. Kent County, MI
Holding Michigan counties accountable to stop home equity theft
A court decision's date doesn't dictate the beginning or end of property rights. The Michigan Supreme Court in Rafaeli and the U.S. Supreme Court in Tyler v. Hennepin County both recognized that property interests at stake in government tax foreclosures are deeply rooted and pre-exist state law. Property cannot be taken without just compensation, n ...
Nathan Rimmer v. City of Edmonds, WA
Fighting extortionate “forever tree” permit conditions to build family home
City of Edmonds cannot demand use of Nathan's land that's irrelevant or disproportionate to the permit he's seeking. The City's demand is unconstitutional, invalid, and cannot stand in the way of a final decision on his application. Such a rule serves no purpose other than to further aggrandize local zoning and land use authority while trampling th ...
Sheetz v. County of El Dorado
Supreme Court rules against extortionate permit fees
Once his land was ready and all George needed was a county building permit, he was stunned when told he could have his permit, but only if he paid a so-called traffic impact fee of more than $23,000. George weighed the immense cost against the hard work he put into his land and his yearning for a retirement home, and he paid the fee under protest. ...