Initiative activist Tim Eyman, Pacific Legal Foundation challenge $8 million fines he cannot pay

Olympia, Washington; October 24, 2025: A citizen activist is asking Washington’s Court of Appeals to strike down crushing government fines that take no account of his inability to pay them. Tim Eyman, who sponsored 17 statewide ballot initiatives over two decades, faces an $8 million judgment that grows by $700,000 every year.

“Courts must consider a person’s actual ability to pay when imposing fines, not look backward to some arbitrary date before the government destroyed their finances,” said Christina Martin, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents Eyman. “The Eighth Amendment prohibits fines that drive someone into destitution—a protection dating back to Magna Carta.”

In 2017, the State of Washington sued Eyman for campaign finance reporting violations. After years of litigation, a trial court imposed $5.5 million in fines and fees. With 12 percent interest, the judgment now exceeds $8 million. The same court also barred Eyman from any financial role in political committees, effectively destroying his livelihood.

Eyman appealed, and the appellate court held that the trial judge must consider ability to pay. But on remand, the trial court looked only at a narrow window in late 2020—before the judgment devastated Eyman’s finances and before the injunction killed his career. Because Eyman made $10,000 monthly payments during those few months, the court concluded he could pay millions. Those payments came from dwindling savings, not income. Within months after the judgement, Eyman ran out of money. The State forced the liquidation of all his assets, including his home.

“After being put through 13 years of investigation and litigation, I’ve been financially destroyed. They took away my home, everything I ever earned in my lifetime, and made it illegal for me to earn a living. I’ve had zero or negative income for the past four years so I’ll never be able to pay them $8 million especially as it grows by $58,000 per month.” Eyman said. “The Constitution protects Americans from fines that drive them into destitution and destroy their ability to make a living. I’m fighting to make that protection real.”

The Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause prohibits punishments that strip away all of a person’s assets and leave them unable to earn a living—a protection rooted in Magna Carta’s requirement that fines not deprive someone of their livelihood.

The case is State of Washington v. Tim Eyman.