Johnson v. City of East Orange
New Jersey family fights government-sanctioned property theft
In 2014, Lynette Johnson bought commercial property in East Orange, New Jersey, for her son and daughter to run their businesses. Unfortunately, Lynette never received notice of her tax assessments, the eventual tax lien, and foreclosure. By the time her tax lien was foreclosed in 2018, she owed close to $20,000. The city sold the property to a pri ...
National Center for Public Policy Research v. Weber
California’s race quota requires discrimination on corporate boards
By the end of 2021, every company subject to AB 979 must have a minimum of one director from an underrepresented community on its board. By the end of 2022, any company with four or fewer directors must have one underrepresented minority board member, any company with between four and nine directors must have two underrepresented board members, and ...
Total Real Estate Group v. Strode
Real estate brokers fight “love letter” ban for the right to speak freely
At a time when home sales have become a cutthroat business, every bargaining chip matters—to buyers, sellers, and the real estate companies in between. Prospective buyers commonly use so-called "love letters" to move sellers' hearts—and sales—in their direction. ...
Humbyrd v. Raimondo
Illegally formed federal agency threatens livelihoods of Alaska fishermen
Like many of his fellow longtime fishermen, Wes Humbyrd draws his catch—and his livelihood—from Cook Inlet. A regulation proposed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, however, will permanently close the inlet's federal waters to commercial salmon fishing, not because of overfishing but because the council deemed it too hard to coord ...
Ng v. Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota
Fighting sex-based discrimination in University of Minnesota athletics
Evan Ng has been a competitive gymnast since he was six years old. He turned down a more lucrative financial aid offer from another university to attend the University of Minnesota and compete on its century-old gymnastics team. His hopes were dashed, however, when the university decided to cut men's gymnastics after the 2020-21 school year under t ...
Collins v. Meyers
Colorado small business owner fights for his right to equality before the law
Steve Collins lives in the small mountain town of Alma, Colorado. The sole proprietor of an event-planning company, Steve helps his clients coordinate meetings around the country. Pandemic-related event cancellations cost him roughly 30 percent of his income. Colorado passed legislation offering relief to small businesses but insisted on prioritizi ...
Mark Shirley and Ole Time Smokehouse v. Town of Farmville, et al.
Food truck entrepreneur defends livelihood from North Carolina town’s unlawful interference
Mark Shirley was making a good living as the general manager of an auto dealership in Eastern North Carolina, but even his comfortable salary couldn't feed his lifelong passion for cooking. So, in September 2019, after a year of exhaustive research into the restaurant industry, Mark left his profitable job to launch a food truck business called Ole ...
Riddick v. City of Malibu
Holding local California governments accountable for banning “granny flats”
Jason and Elizabeth Riddick live in Malibu, California, with their three children. Elizabeth's mother, Renee Sperling, is aging with several disabilities, including immunodeficiency. The Riddicks seek to add an attached ADU onto their existing single-family home in order to provide Renee a safe and private place to live. The Riddicks' modest propos ...
Tiegs v. Vilsack
Race-based COVID-19 farm loan forgiveness denies equal treatment to farmers and ranchers across the country
When the pandemic struck, much of the U.S. agriculture industry felt the financial crunch. Julie Owen, James Tiegs, Abraham and Cally Jergenson, and Chad Ward were initially encouraged when Congress passed a COVID-19 relief law that included a farm loan forgiveness provision for economic hardship. But they each discovered that they are ineligible f ...