CTM Holdings LLC v. USDA
Farming family fights government’s illegal restrictions on their livelihood
Iowa attorney Jim Conlan grew up in a farming family, so when considering new investment options, reconnecting with his family legacy through agriculture was a natural fit. He began buying farmland, including a farm once owned by his grandparents. His investments make it possible for other families, who might otherwise not be able to afford to b ...
Green v. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Fishermen fight illegal fishing ban
In 2021, President Biden issued a presidential proclamation that banned commercial fishing across millions of acres in the fertile Georges Bank region of the North Atlantic Ocean, a devastating blow to New England's iconic fishing industry. Bob Conrad and Frank Green have spent their entire adult lives earning their living from the water, loggin ...
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 fed ...
United States v. Melton E. “Val” Valentine, Jr., et al.
Federal agency ignores the Supreme Court to prosecute landowners
North Carolina businessman "Val" Valentine earned his living in commercial real estate, but he also kept a small portfolio of timberlands on the side. After his son, Skip, started a logging company, the pair decided to expand the family land business. In 2016, the Valentines began buying 1,700 acres of rough timberland for forestry and recreatio ...
Heaton et al. v. Biden et al.
Ranching family fights President Biden’s Antiquities Act abuse
Chris Heaton is a sixth-generation landowner and rancher who embodies the rugged individualism, adventurism, and tireless work ethic of the American West. His family has been ranching in Utah and Arizona since the 1800s, and today, Chris runs a 50,000-acre ranch on both private land and public land leased from the State of Arizona and the federal B ...
Kansas Natural Resource Coalition v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Illegal rulemaking threatens livelihoods, conservation, and the rule of law
Cameron Edwards has two driving passions in life: growing his small agricultural operation and realizing his grandfather's vision. His family business, Lone Butte Farms, grows corn, ranches cattle, and operates two oil wells on 7,000 acres of land in Logan County, Kansas. Cameron's grandfather first purchased the land, and three generations of the ...
Flying Crown Subdivision v. Alaska Railroad Corporation
Planes, trains, and property rights: battling government’s easement abuses
The Flying Crown subdivision near Anchorage, Alaska, with its adjacent airstrip, is naturally home to many pilots. The Alaska Railroad, a state-owned company, has long held an easement across the subdivision and part of the airstrip. The easement, first granted by the federal government and later transferred to the state, was always treated as " ...
Williams v. California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Government’s regulatory Catch-22 threatens California’s future fishermen
Fishing is an ancient and noble profession. It is also unquestionably in Max Williams' DNA. His grandfather and parents have deep roots in California's fishing industry, their livelihoods built on decades of skill and success with gillnets—the set, passive nets that are best suited for commercial fishing in California waters. Max (second from ...
Fehily et al. v. Biden et al.
President Biden reboots Antiquities Act abuse with commercial fishing ban
To hard-working commercial fishermen, the Georges Bank area of the North Atlantic Ocean is an economic lifeline. Its bountiful fisheries have for centuries supported diverse fish and shellfish, giving rise to New England's iconic fishing communities and an important industry throughout the Northeast. To President Biden, however, Georges Bank is ...