Worm castings: sometimes a nature’s miracle, sometimes a dangerous pesticide
Author: Timothy Sandefur We’ve blogged before about the case of George Hahn, who was recently fined $100,000 by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation for selling a fertilizer made out of worm castings—because the state claims it’s a pesticide. The Department argues that the law forbids Mr. Hahn from saying that plants fed ...
Florida federal district court refuses to dismiss state challenge to Obamacare
Author: Timothy Sandefur Judge Roger Vinson of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Florida refused today to dismiss the challenge to Obamacare that’s been brought by a coalition of several states who allege that the law exceeds Congress’ constitutional authority and intrudes on state sovereignty. Judge Vinson dismiss ...
Florida court denies government motion to dismiss commerce challenge
Author: Luke A. Wake We have just received word that the Northern District of Florida has denied the government's motion to dismiss a Commerce Clause challenge to the PPACA's individual mandate provision. Like our client – Matt Sissel – the Attorneys General of numerous states have argued that Congress exceede ...
Thousands of miles of streams now critical habitat for the bull trout
Author: Damien M. Schiff This week, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a new designation of critical habitat for the ESA-protected bull trout. The designation comes after a successful lawsuit in federal district court in Oregon brought by environmental groups, Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Allen, challenging t ...
My Independence Institute talks about The Right to Earn A Living
Author: Timothy Sandefur My talk at Colorado's Independence Institute has been posted online. More here. Also, before the talk, I did an interview with the Institute's Ben DeGrow, and you can listen to it here. … ...
PLF sues Coastal Commission for extortion attempt against family
Author: Paul Beard II On Friday, PLF attorneys filed a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission—the State's worst abuser of property rights and of landowners who live and work in the State's coastal zone. The case centers on the Commission's attempt to take a substantial public access easement from a ...
Our federal government: quick to regulate, slow to liberate
Author: Brandon Middleton You may recall that Pacific Legal Foundation recently filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, asking the agency to remove the valley elderberry longhorn beetle from the list of federally-protected species under the Endangered Species Act. The basis for PLF's petition was the Service' ...
PLF on Andy Caldwell Show today, re another Coastal Commission land grab
Author: Anne Hayes This afternoon at 4:30 PDT, PLF's Paul Beard will appear on The Andy Caldwell Show (am 1440 in California's Central Coast region) to talk about PLF's just-filed lawsuit against the latest attempted land grab by the California Coastal Commission. PLF attorneys represent members of a family who want to do so ...
Guest blogging at the Volokh Conspiracy
Author: Timothy Sandefur I'll be guest-blogging at The Volokh Conspiracy this week. My first two posts are already up: "Is Protectionism A Legitimate State Interest?" and "How Unions Exploit Anti-Competitive, Private Interest Lawmaking." … ...
Can government ignore reality to get around the rule of law?
Author: Luke A. Wake Roy and Joyce Fowler are embroiled in a legal battle to keep their family business on a busy corner in Azusa, California. The City is trying to take their property from them. Azusa plans to replace their successful furniture store with a restaurant as part of a "redevelopment project." Th ...