White v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Feds ignore the Supreme Court to prosecute property owners
Robert White worked for many years to build a highly successful commercial seafood business in North Carolina. While he earned a good livelihood, he invested much of his earnings in coastal property as a way to ensure financial security for his children.But now Robert and his family face financial ruin due to a remorseless power grab by two federal ...
Ward v. US Army Corps of Engineers
Feds ignore the Supreme Court to wrongfully regulate property owners
Dan Ward is among a growing number of landowners injured by the federal government's regulatory recalcitrance. His simple desire to build a pond at his rural homestead in Iowa landed him in the crosshairs of the Army Corps' power-hungry desire to regulate landowners and completely disregard the Supreme Court. ...
United States v. Melton E. “Val” Valentine, Jr., et al.
Federal agency ignores the Supreme Court to prosecute landowners
No matter how strong its zeal to make an example of the Valentines and deter other landowners from pursuing similar development, the Army Corps cannot simply ignore a Supreme Court decision or assume enforcement powers it doesn't have. Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation at no charge, the Valentines are now making a full-throated defen ...
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 ...
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 ...
New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Government’s unnecessary protection for bountiful bird crushes property rights
Represented free of charge by PLF, the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association is defending livelihoods, property values, and property rights in a federal challenge to the unlawful ESA listing. ...
Skipper v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Illegal critical habitat designation punishes family’s voluntary conservation efforts
The Skipper family has owned forestland in Clarke County, Alabama, since 1902, which it manages for timber production and conservation. In 1956 they established the Scotch Wildlife Management Area (WMA), agreeing to voluntarily open their land for the state's wildlife conservation efforts and outdoor recreation. In February 2020, the U.S. Fish and ...
State of California v. Bernhardt
Motion to intervene filed to defend protections for property owners
In 2019, the Department of Interior changed the way that it applies the Endangered Species Act by rescinding an illegal rule. The changes offered additional protections for property owners—like Ken Klemm, who runs a 4,000-acre ranch in Kansas. The changes also incentivized property owners to assist in the recovery of species by loosening restrict ...
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 ...