Federal Trade Commission Cases
Federal Trade Commission ignores Congress and the Supreme Court to extort unfair, unlawful settlements
Three firms are fighting back against the FTC's unchecked power grab to vindicate their right to meaningfully defend themselves in court, hold a powerful federal agency accountable to the rule of law, and restore the proper limits of FTC authority as established by Congress. ...
Weiss v. Perez
Professor challenges university’s unlawful viewpoint discrimination
Dr. Elizabeth Weiss, a highly decorated, fully tenured professor of anthropology at San Jose State University (SJSU), specializes in osteology—the study of human skeletal remains. As part of her work, she has published and spoken about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and similar laws, which require laboratories ...
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. ...
Yim v. City of Seattle (II)
Seattle wages unconstitutional war on landlords
In a misguided effort to combat racial disparities in housing, the City of Seattle passed the "Fair Chance Housing Ordinance," which forbids housing providers from considering applicants' criminal histories, usually uncovered in a standard background check. PLF represents several small-scale housing providers who are denied their constitutionally g ...
Skyworks Ltd. v. Centers for Disease Control; Chambless Enterprises, LLC v. Centers for Disease Control
Fighting the CDC’s national eviction ban to restore separation of powers
In September 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adopted an order that prohibited certain evictions for non-payment of rent. However, in its haste to enact and enforce a national eviction ban, the CDC overstepped its lawful authority by exercising legislative power reserved to Congress, and it did so at the expense of struggl ...
El Papel v. City of Seattle
Fighting unlawful eviction bans masked as a pandemic response
In the wake of COVID-19, Washington State and Seattle joined a number of cities and states to enact emergency eviction bans that eliminated landlords' ability to evict tenants who violate lease terms, such as by neglecting to pay their rent. Seattle added an ordinance that prohibits landlords from seeking full repayment for up to a year from the em ...
Navigable Waters Cases
Fighting government’s make-believe, illegal definition of navigable waters
The Clean Water Act (CWA) has a seemingly simple purpose: protect the navigable waters of the United States from pollution. The federal agencies charged with carrying out and enforcing the law, however, have expanded the definition of "navigable waters" several times since the Act went on the books in 1972. Represented by PLF free of charge, a numb ...
Minnesota Assoc. Builders and Contractors v. Minneapolis Public School District
Bulldozing unfair, illegal union-rigged construction scheme
With 75 buildings and 35,000 students, there's plenty of construction work in the Minneapolis School District. But many hardworking Minnesotans never get a shot at a school project. In 2004, the district adopted a project labor agreement, or PLA, that favors politically powerful unions over nonunion contractors. This type of agreement forces firms ...
Freedom Foundation v. Washington Dept. of Ecology
State agency Scrooge violates Santa’s First Amendment rights
Each year around the holidays, Washington-based Freedom Foundation sends staff members to the lobbies of state agency buildings. These staffers—dressed as Santa—hand out leaflets that explain state employees' right to opt out of union dues. Allowed by most agencies, the Washington Department of Ecology in 2017 instead prohibited the leafletting ...