South Carolina Department of Environmental Services v. Reddy
Homeowner stands up to government agency’s demand that he destroy seawall
Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation, Rom filed an appeal with the South Carolina Court of Appeals to challenge the agency’s attempted power grab. He argues that the DES cannot claim power to act outside the scope of its jurisdiction and asks the court to overturn the agency’s demand that he destroy his seawall.
John Levy v. California Coastal Commission
Homeowner challenges California Coastal Commission’s power to levy crippling fines
Mr. Levy argues that this method of operation makes the California Coastal Commission prosecutor, judge, and beneficiary—in violation of Americans’ Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Haney v. Town of Mashpee, Massachusetts
Man sues Massachusetts town for right to build home on his own island
Matthew Haney is suing the town of Mashpee, Massachusetts, for the right to build a home on his own island.
David Hood v. CA Department of Agriculture
Fighting California’s lawless general searches under the guise of pest control
David is fighting back with free representation from PLF. He filed a federal lawsuit to restore his right to be secure in his own property and limit the government’s ability to trespass on private property under the guise of an unconstitutional general warrant.
Sanchez v. Torrez
New Mexico landowners defend property rights from state-sanctioned trespassing
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid made it clear that the government cannot force property owners to allow public trespassers on their private land without just compensation. Doing so is an unconstitutional property taking, even if the private land in question happens to be a streambed.
Shear Development Co., LLC v. California Coastal Commission
California Coastal Commission unlawfully blocks home construction
Shear Development is asking the California Supreme Court to reverse the CCC’s unlawful permit denial, confine the CCC to its proper role under the Coastal Act, and affirm that courts, not agencies, should resolve questions of statutory interpretation
John Doe et al. v. U.S. Dept. of Justice et al.
DOJ’s unconstitutional registry rules trap some Californians in a bind
John is challenging Congress’ unconstitutional delegation of authority to the Attorney General to issue SORNA requirements—a clear violation of the non-delegation doctrine and separation of powers.
Seider v. City of Malibu
Property rights on the line in family’s battle for beachfront signage
Dennis and Leah Seider simply want to alert beachgoers to where the public right of access to the beach ends, the Seiders’ private Malibu property begins, and the way to the nearby public beach. Their best hope to protect their property rights and avoid potential confrontations with beachgoers would be a sign. But that hope faded when they learned the city prohibits signs that mark property boundaries. Worse, even if they wanted to try, they’d need to apply for a sign permit and agree to an indemnification clause that might require them to pay the city’s costs of any legal challenge to their permit. While the city can require permits for signs, it can’t prohibit speech about property lines to surreptitiously expand public beach access across private land. To restore their property rights, including the right to exclude trespassers, the Seiders are challenging the sign restrictions in a federal lawsuit.
Pietro Family Investments v. California Coastal Commission
Builder battles the California Coastal Commission’s basement ban
When Chris Adamski, a Monterey County, California contractor, and his longtime mentor and friend Mike Pietro bought four properties in the county’s Carmel Point neighborhood in 2014, they planned to develop two houses to sell, and then build one house for each of them—Chris for his large family, and Mike for retirement. The California Coastal Commission (CCC) reversed the permits for three of the lots because Chris and Mike couldn’t prove with 100 percent certainty that their land contains no archeological resources. The CCC effectively banned basements in the area and illegally expanded their oversight of local building regulations. Because the Commission has neither the jurisdiction nor the right to create arbitrary new land use laws through permitting, Chris and Mike are suing in state court.