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

Fighting extortionate permit fees at the Supreme Court

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. ...

Dr. Gregory Ringenberg v. United States

Government’s bogus easements threaten family retreat and property rights

The government cannot take private property without the owner's consent unless it pays just compensation. Nor can the government create an easement where none would otherwise exist. Yet, the Forest Service is using every flimsy excuse it can find to take an easement for an access road that leads to nowhere, without paying for it. Dr. Ringenberg ...

Rhode Island Association of Coastal Taxpayers v. Jeffrey Willis

Rhode Island’s beach expansion law moves public beach onto private property

In America, the right to own, occupy, and use your private property is a cornerstone of individual freedom and protected by the Constitution. If the government takes your property, it must pay just compensation—even when it is taking the property for a "good" purpose.  Rhode Island lawmakers recently ignored these constitutional limits by enacti ...

Hinesburg Road
835 Hinesburg Road, LLC v. South Burlington

Fighting to Open Courtroom Doors to Property Takings Claims

Jeff Nick and his business partner, Jeff Davis, are responsible for some of the most substantial development in Vermont, including the state's first Walmart.  In 2000, they bought a large swath of industrially zoned land in a high growth area of South Burlington (pictured above). The property's location and infrastructure made it ripe for the ...

Ladies having fun
HomeRoom, Inc. v. City of Shawnee, Kansas

Shared household ban harms families, housing, and due process

People choose to live with non-relatives for many reasons—they're new to town, they want to make friends and build a community, they have no family nearby, or they can't afford to buy a house or pay rent on a solo income. At a time when Americans are delaying marriage and families (in 2017, nearly 32% ...

Sabey parents reading to children
Joshua Sabey, et al. v. Butterfield et al.

Parents defend custodial rights and children’s security from lawless search and seizure

Alarmed by her three-month-old son's 103-degree temperature and at the family pediatrician's urging, graduate student Sarah Perkins brought baby Cal to a hospital emergency room just a few miles from their home in Waltham, Massachusetts. Sarah's husband Josh Sabey, a documentary filmmaker, stayed home with the couple's toddler, Clarence.   Doctors ...