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. ...
Jake’s Fireworks, Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Family fireworks business sparks legal battle to open federal courts for regulatory challenges
Agencies' bullying people into action through informal threats are unfortunately all-too-common due process failures within government agencies. They're also unconstitutional. A unanimous Supreme Court said in PLF's wins in Sackett I and again in Hawkes that government agencies can't issue determinations that spell out punishment and then claim suc ...
Inside Passage Electric Cooperative v. U.S. Department of Agriculture
Nonprofit fights USDA’s roadblock to new green energy in rural Alaska
IPEC is fighting back to rein in the USDA's overreach so they can build sustainable, eco-friendly power projects and improve their customers' quality of life. Represented free of charge by PLF, the cooperative and the Alaska Power Association are challenging the USDA's authority to prohibit construction and maintenance of roads within national fore ...
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 ...
Kansas Natural Resource Coalition v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Illegal rulemaking threatens livelihoods, conservation, and the rule of law
With their livelihoods and their constitutional rights on the line, Mr. Edwards, Lone Butte Farms, Schilling Land, JDC Farms, and the Kansas Natural Resource Coalition—an association of 30 county governments—are filing a federal lawsuit to hold the FWS to its obligations as intended by Congress and in a manner that respects private property rig ...
Bell v. Raimondo
Illegally formed federal agency threatens livelihoods of Gulf Coast fishermen
Karen Bell and William Copeland both have deep ties to the fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico. Karen was born into a multi-generation fishing family and after graduating college in 1986, she joined A P Bell Fish Company, a Cortez, Florida, commercial fishing, processing, and distribution company started by her grandfather in 1940. Some ...
Thomas Villegas, et al. v. Michael S. Regan, et al.
Landowners fight in-house agency prosecution to restore fairness and political accountability
Thomas and Amy Villegas bought a patch of undeveloped property in Nebraska, intending to use the land's robust mix of meadows, woods, and streams for hunting and other recreational activities. Now they are being pursued by a federal agency, not in a court of law, but within its own walls, under its own rules, and before its own employees acting as ...
Shannon Poe v. Idaho Conservation League
Defending livelihoods from dredged-up pollution claims
Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation at no charge, Shannon is asking the Ninth Circuit to overturn the lower court's decision to restore his livelihood and strengthen the separation of powers by limiting broad deference to agencies like the EPA. ...
Raymond Lofstad and Gus Lovgren v. Raimondo
Illegally formed federal agency threatens livelihoods of Atlantic fishermen
Raymond Lofstad and Gus Lovgren are both fourth-generation commercial fishermen running small-scale operations in the Mid-Atlantic. They're asking a federal court to restore their right to earn an honest living without interference by an illegally formed agency and its equally unlawful regulation. ...