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% ...
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 ...
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 ...
Tyler v. Hennepin County
Victory! Supreme Court declares home equity theft unconstitutional
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court announced a unanimous decision in favor of Geraldine, ruling that home equity theft violates the Takings Clase of the Fifth Amendment. The Court explained that property rights are fundamental and cannot be erased by a state statute that redefines them out of existence. "The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is ...
Perez v. Wayne County
Family fights home equity theft to protect the American Dream
Though Erica Perez and her family spent most of their lives in New Jersey, they had their sights set on Detroit to join their relatives who already lived there. In 2012, Erica and her father Romualdo bought a property containing a four-unit apartment building and a dilapidated single-family home in Detroit for $60,000. They spent three years fixing ...
Hawkins v. Haaland
Fighting to restore water control to rightful government authority
Oregon's Upper Klamath Basin has long supported wildlife, as well as the livelihoods of ranchers, farmers, and other landowners. Some water rights belong to the Indian tribes by treaty, with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) charged with exercising these rights consistent with the best interests of the Indian tribes, as well as the general pu ...