ATS Tree Services, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission
Small business owner fights FTC’s lawless non-compete ban
Adam Servin founded ATS Tree Services in 2014, offering tree removal services and firewood sales in Pennsylvania. ATS asks new employees to sign a one-year non-compete agreement, meaning an employee who leaves must wait one year before working at a competitor tree care company in the same geographic area as ATS. In 2024, the FTC issued a new rule banning all non-compete agreements in the United States. Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation at no charge, ATS is fighting the FTC’s unchecked power grab in federal court to preserve its ability to provide good jobs and valuable training, hold a powerful federal agency accountable to the rule of law, and restore the proper limits of the FTC’s authority as Congress intended.
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 defense of their right to make productive use of their own land, and to ensure both agency compliance and courts’ proper application of Sackett II.
Peters Brothers, Inc., et al., v. Penn DEP, et al.
Family trucking business fights to keep government in its constitutional lane
Represented at no charge by Pacific Legal Foundation, Brian and Peters Brothers are challenging Pennsylvania’s unlawful regulatory outsourcing to protect their livelihoods and restore democratic accountability for all Pennsylvanians.