Fair v. Continental Resources
Nebraska widower fights government-sanctioned home equity theft
The outside world came to a screeching halt for Kevin Fair in 2013. His wife, Terry, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Kevin had to quit his job so he could care for her at their Scottsbluff, Nebraska, home where they'd lived for nearly two decades—the home was a wedding gift from Kevin's mother. ...
Ariyan Inc. v. Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans
Fighting for timely just compensation for government-damaged property
Hemorrhaging money and time, and unable to repair their properties or restore their businesses, these small businesses and property owners are asking the Supreme Court to confirm their constitutional right to reasonably timely just compensation. ...
Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid
Supreme Court affirms property rights for California fruit growers
Cedar Point Nursery and Fowler Packing Company are California growers that produce fruit for millions of Americans. Collectively, they employ around 3,000 Californians. In 2015, the United Farm Workers (UFW) viewed the workers as ripe for the picking and sent union organizers to storm the workplaces during harvest time to encourage them to unionize ...
Wilkins v. United States of America
Government bait-and-switch tramples on property rights and peace of mind
Wil Wilkins and Jane Stanton live next to Montana's Bitterroot National Forest. A road that crosses both of their properties is the result of a limited-use easement granted to the U.S. Forest Service by the properties' previous owners in 1962. The general public is not supposed to use the road, but in 2006 the Forest Service began advertising the r ...
Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky
Victory for Free Speech! U.S. Supreme Court ruling protects political self-expression
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a polling-place dress code in Minnesota, upholding free speech rights across the nation and protecting the right of Americans to peacefully express their political views at the polls. PLF represented Minnesota voters, including Andy Cilek, who showed up at his polling place wearing a t-shirt that read "Don't t ...
Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania
Supreme Court affirms that property rights are among Americans' most important constitutional rights.
In 2013, government agents forced Rose Knick to allow public access to a suspected gravesite on her farmland. Rose sued over the unconstitutional property taking. But a federal court refused to hear her federal claim citing the 1985 Supreme Court decision Williamson County. Rose has asked the Court to overturn this precedent so property rights are ...
Weyerhaeuser/Markle v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Government-sanctioned private land grabs over absent animals are illegal
The U.S. Supreme Court opened its fall term on October 1, 2018, with the famous "frog case" out of Louisiana. That's where federal regulators declared more than 1,500 acres of private land as a critical habitat for the dusky gopher frog—a species not seen in the state for more than 50 years. PLF client Edward Poitevent owns 95 percent of the land ...
Murr v. Wisconsin
Wisconsin undermines property rights by “merging” separate lots
The Murr family owned two separately deeded lots that were purchased independently by their parents in the 1960s. They built a small cabin on one lot and held the other one as an investment for the future. But when the time came to sell, subsequently enacted regulations forbade the Murrs from making any productive use of the vacant lot – and with ...
Kent Recycling Services, LLC v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Landowners win right to challenge wetland determinations in court
Kent Recycling Services wanted to establish a solid waste landfill in Louisiana. But an overzealous Corps of Engineers issued a Jurisdictional Determination claiming the property contained wetlands subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act. Kent disputed this claim and sued. Lower courts rejected his lawsuit as unripe on the theory th ...